


Gate 43

by delta2707



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Established Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, F/F, Married Couple, Swanqueen baby, swanqueen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-18 01:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9359270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delta2707/pseuds/delta2707
Summary: AU. A story of love and heartbreaks. Regina screwed up, badly, and things are about to get more complicated. Will she be able to fix her mistakes before it's too late?





	1. Delay

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone :) I've been posting this story on FF and decided to share it here too. 
> 
> It's a random idea I got a while back while waiting to board my plane and, well, turned into this. 
> 
> English is not my first language so, sorry in advance for any mistakes.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Emma looked up from her phone and glared warily at the brunette with a hint of surprise and annoyance. "Not that it's any of your business, but my flight was delayed and I'm just waiting."

The brunette scoffed and crossed her arms still looking down at Emma.

"This is a public place, Regina. And it's not like I was planning on running into you here of all places. What are you doing here?"

"Well, Miss Swan, my flight also happens to be delayed and as you put it, I'm just waiting."

Emma sat up straight on her chair, "It's Miss Swan, now? Seriously? You'd think that after all we went through-wait, are you going home?"

"I can hardly call that place home, anymore." Said Regina averting the blonde's eyes.  
Emma shook her head "You know what I mean."

"If you must know, yes, mother has been asking me to visit since my sister became pregnant with that devil's spawn."

"Oh, my god! Zee is pregnant? I didn't realize she and Walsh had been together that long. But then again it's been a while since-"

Regina interrupted whatever the blonde was saying "Miss Swan, I'm not here to make small talk with you. I just happened to see you, unfortunately, and decided to ask what were you doing here."

Emma got up from her chair and entered the brunette's personal space "Come on, Gina…" she went to touch the other woman's arm but she flinched and the blonde retreated her arm and took a step back. "Fine. And as to why I'm here, I'm going home, too. Mom and dad are renewing their vows and want me to be there and I have some other stuff to take care of, so yeah."

She sighed as the brunette just let out a hum of acknowledgement, still not meeting her eyes.

Emma shoved her hands in her back pockets "Is there anything else or are we just going to stand here?" There was no answer. "Right. I'll be out of your way then." Said the blonde after deciding she was hungry, anyway.

Since Regina was still not even looking at her she went to grab her bag and after a long glance at the brunette she walked away towards the food court. Regina let go of the breath she wasn't aware she was holding and sat down where the blonde was sitting just minutes before.

It had been over three months since the last time she had spoken to Emma. She didn't even think the blonde was still living in the city; after all it was her job that had required them to move to New York, so she figured that the blonde had moved back to Maine with her parents after everything.

She checked her watch and saw that there were still four hours to go before her flight, deciding to go get some coffee, she got up and walked to a small café, placed her order and sat on a booth by the window that overlooked the landing track. Taking a sip of her drink, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

7 years ago.

Something collided with her as she went to open the small café's door, making her hot drink spill all over her perfectly tucked in shirt. "God dammit! Could you watch where you are going?!" She said after trying, unsuccessfully, to clean herself with some napkins.

"Oh, my god! I am so sorry! I am late for a class but my coffee machine broke and I am in a hurry and I know that's no excuse but I truly am sorry and please let me make it up to you."

After hearing the woman's desperate rant she looked up from her now soaked and dirty shirt, ready to tell her to fuck off, but what she wasn't expecting was to be met by the most beautiful blue-green eyes that spoke more than a million words.

"Please?" Begged the blonde. "I'm Emma." She said with an awkward smile since the brunette hadn't answered yet and was just staring at her.

"Regina." Said the dark haired woman, extending her hand for the blonde to shake.  
When their hands met, she smiled at the warm feeling and butterflies it gave her. 

Thinking to herself that this was definitely not the last time they would see each other.

She put the cup down and looked as various planes landed and took off.

6 years ago.

They were lying on a blanket that the blonde had set up on an empty field, looking at the stars.

"Do you remember the day we met?" Said the blonde folding her arms behind her head.

"How could I forget? You ruined my shirt. I had to run back home and change since it was my first day in my internship program."

Emma chuckled. "Yeah. But I did make up to it." She smiled and turned her head to see the brunette who was also smiling.

"That you did. I have to say I wasn't expecting you to show up at my office with a gallon of fresh brewed coffee."

"It's the least I could have done after making you spill yours. And ruin your expensive looking shirt." She turned her head back to see the sky.

There was a long moment of silence. Thing that was not normal between the two of them. In the year they had known each other they always found something to talk about, even if it was the most trivial of things.

"What's wrong?" Asked Regina after a few moments.

"Nothing is wrong. It's just that-" There was a pause. She removed her arms from behind her head so she could sit up on her elbows.

"You know you can tell me anything." Another pause.

"I kind of like you." Said Emma without looking at the brunette. "I really, really like you." When she was met with no answer she looked at Regina, fearing that she had screwed up by saying anything. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. But since the day I met you all I can think about is how warm and fuzzy you make me feel and that you have the most beautiful brown eyes I have ever seen and that you are just wonderful, inside and outside and I don't know how or when it happened but I just started developing feelings for you and I-" She was stopped by a soft hand cupping her cheek.

"Miss Swan, shut up." Regina leaned in and kissed her with everything she had, not only to make the blonde stop her rambling, but to show her that whatever she was feeling was not one sided. After a couple minutes they parted. "I kind of really, really like you, too." And they both smiled looking into each other's eyes.

She finished her coffee and checked her watch again. Three hours to go.

5 years ago.

There was a knock on the door. Emma was early. She cleaned her hands with the dishtowel and smoothed the non-existent wrinkles of her dress as she went to open the apartment door. She was met with a grinning blonde who was holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

"Happy anniversary! I know I'm early but I just couldn't wait to see you."

"Happy anniversary to you, too, beautiful." She gave the blonde a peck on the lips and opened the door completely to let her in. "And it's alright. I was just about to put dinner in the oven." She took the flowers from the other woman. "I'll just put these in a vase. You can sit on the couch, I'll join you in a second."

She finished arranging the flowers "Do you want anything to drink? I have wine. Or beer." She was met with silence. "Emma?" No answer. She walked into the living room where Emma was sitting, looking intently into the fireplace, fidgeting with her hands. "What is it, dear?"

Emma looked at her and then down at her hands. "I know that we have only been dating for a year." Regina sat down next to her. "But I can say that it has been the best year of my life." She smiled shyly. "And I guess that what I am trying to say is, Regina, I- I love you."

She knew. The brunette knew. By all the looks the blonde gave her, the little details. The late night calls. The way she cared for her. But they had never said those words out loud. And she knew that the blonde had never said those words to anyone before. She grabbed both Emma's hands on her own. "Darling, look at me." And she did, still nervous. Regina smiled from ear to ear. "I love you, too."

"You do?" Emma asked with a watery smile that could have lit up the whole city.

"I do." And she leaned in wanting to kiss the blonde and show her just how much. Minutes later the oven's timer made itself known, announcing that dinner was ready and they parted. Regina stood up offering her hand for the other woman to take. "Let's eat." Said the brunette as they walked hand in hand towards the kitchen with matching smiles that lasted for the rest of the night.

Regina got up from the small booth and decided she would walk around the duty free area since there were still two and a half hours left for her flight. As she walked by a small shop she saw a couple of very colorful key chains.

4 years ago.

"Where is she? She said she would be here." Emma was looking around the auditorium trying to spot her girlfriend.

"And she will be, sweetie. She must be caught up in traffic or something." Said Emma's mother with a shy smile trying to calm the uneasy woman.

"There she is!" Emma's father said from behind her.

"Oh, thank god!" Emma ran to the brunette's arms.

"I'm sorry, darling. My boss wouldn't let me go and then I got caught up with traffic. But I am here now." She greeted her girlfriend with a soft kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous. But better now that you are here." Said the blonde giving Regina another kiss.

"Ladies and gentlemen, briefly we'll start the graduation ceremony so please, take your seats and enjoy." Said someone from the podium.

"That's my queue to go up there. I'll see you guys in a bit!" Emma told her parents and girlfriend.

After the ceremony, Emma's parents decided to have the couple over for dinner to give the blonde her graduation presents. Her mom and dad gave her a brand new laptop so she could work on her projects wherever she wanted and her dad also gave her a mug that read "World's best graphic designer." She gave them both a hug and expressed how grateful she was.

They had dessert and after, the blonde's parents retreated to their bedroom, leaving the couple alone in the living room. "I got you something." Said Regina, pulling a box from her coat pocket.

"What is it?" Emma opened the box, seeing that it was a key ring with a small, silver apple on it. "A key chain? What for?" Asked the blonde a little confused since they had bought one together already that held a little golden heart.

"For this." Said the brunette, reaching again for her pocket, taking out a key. Emma still had a confused look on her face. "Move in with me."

"What?"

The brunette bit her lower lip. "Move in with me."

"Are you serious?" The blonde turned to face the other woman fully.

"Yes, I am serious. You spend most of your time in my place, anyway. So what do you say?"

Emma seemed to think about it for a second. She then grabbed the brunette's face with both hands and kissed her as if her life depended on it. "Yes! Yes. I'd love to move in with you."

"Let's go home, then. We'll pick up your stuff later."

"I love you, so much."

"I love you, too, darling."

Regina kept walking around. Two hours to go.

3 years ago.

Emma was pacing in the living room. Regina had texted her hours ago and told her that she couldn't get out of the office in time to make it to their dinner reservation, but Emma assured her that she understood and it was fine. That they could get take out and have a quiet meal in for their third anniversary.

It was around 9pm when Regina finally got home. "Hello? Honey?" Emma stood up from where she was sitting and went to greet her girlfriend at the door.

"Hello, gorgeous. It feels like forever since I last saw you." She said wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist.

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. Between my boss and my mother I believe I am about to lose my mind."

"I know. I just miss you. Happy anniversary" The blonde gave Regina a soft kiss and smiled.

"Happy anniversary, darling. I can't believe it's been three years already."

"I know, right?" Taking a step back, she grabbed the brunette's hand and guided her to the couch in front of the fireplace and a coffee table where she had set up a couple of plates and a glass of wine for each. "Come, let's eat."

They had their meal while discussing their day and making small talk. When they were done, Regina took their plates to the kitchen sink and went to refill their wine glasses. "I swear, if I didn't want the promotion so bad I would have quit already. I wish we could get out of this place." She gave Emma her glass back and sat down next to her. "You know, a new scenery. New people. Just you and me."

"Hm." Emma was looking at Regina while she spoke. She knew what the older woman was saying but her mind was somewhere else. She was listening to her voice. Her blue-green eyes wandered from brown eyes, to perfect lips, to beautiful, long fingers.

"What do you think? If we could, would you go away with me? Regina turned her head to face the blonde. "Emma?"

"Marry me."

"What?" The brunette whispered.

Emma sat up and placed her glass on the table, taking Regina's as well. "Marry me." She grabbed one of the other woman's hands and ran her thumb over it. "I want you. I want this. I want us. More than anything I have ever wanted in my life. You make me so happy and I want to make you as happy for the rest of my life." She glanced down at their joined hands and then looked up to meet brown eyes. "I can't imagine a life without you. You stole my heart, my mind and my soul a long time ago and I don't want them back. They are yours to keep. So, what do you say? Marry me?"

"Yes." She said with eyes full of tears and a huge smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Emma. I want you. I want this. I want us."

"I love you, so much. I wasn't planning on doing this today, but I just saw you and came to the conclusion that I didn't want to wait anymore."

The brunette chuckled. "I love you, too."

"We are really doing this."

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma with all the love she had to offer. "Yes, we are."  
She decided to walk back to the gate since there was only an hour left to go. When she got there, she sat down and held her head in her hands.

2 years ago.

After the wedding, Regina was offered the promotion with the condition that she moved to New York City. She couldn't pass it up; she was her own boss now.

The first few weeks went by smoothly. They decided to spend their honeymoon sightseeing around the place they would now be calling home. Emma found a job that allowed her to work from home and she was doing great. Everything was going great.

Until Regina started settling down in her new office.

She woke up with the sound of the front door opening. She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for the brunette to come home after she had received a text saying that she would be late. She checked her watch, it was 7am. "Hey, Gina." She said in a sleepy voice. "Did you just get here?"

Regina walked over to her and gave her a short kiss. "Yes, darling. I'm sorry. One of my new employees really messed up the paperwork yesterday and I had to stay and fix everything for today's meeting."

"Oh." Said the blonde a little confused and not completely awake, yet. "So, you have to go back?"

"I do, sweetie. I just came to change." The blonde just nodded.

Regina groaned, wondering how did she let thing get out of hand so fast.

18 months ago.

Emma was on the phone, arguing with the brunette. "What do you mean you are not coming home tonight? Regina, I haven't seen you in days!"

"I know, darling, but what do you want me to do? I can't just drop everything and expect these people to figure out how to run the business." There was a rustling of papers.

"That is not what I'm saying." She sighed. "I just miss you. I miss my wife." She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I know, honey, but I-"

"Gina?"

"I'm sorry, Emma, I have a meeting. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Fine"

"Okay, I love you."

"I love y-" The line went dead. She sighed, again. "You, too."

14 months ago.

Emma had just come out from a meeting with a client, so she decided to have a surprise lunch date with her wife. She had been seeing her more, lately, not that the older woman was spending much time at home, but at least she spent the night there and not at the office couch. So she was not going to complain, especially after how it went down the last time.

She picked up take out from a small restaurant the brunette loved and walked the few blocks to the office building.

There was something she wanted to discuss with the other woman. Something she thought could help them both in a way. But she was nervous. They had touched the subject a couple of times before, but nothing definite. She was worried about what 

Regina's answer would be, considering her mind was always at work.  
There was a knock at the door. "Come in." The brunette said without looking up from her computer.

"Well, hello there." The blonde said smiling at her wife's concentrated stance. "Lunch delivery." She raised the paper bags for the other woman to see.

"Emma! Hi! What are you doing here?" She got up from her chair to greet the other woman. She gave her a short but loving kiss.

"I got out from my meeting earlier and knowing you, figured you hadn't eaten yet." She gave her another kiss. "So. I thought we could eat together." She smiled.

"Thank you." She went to clear her desk so they could eat. "And you are right, I haven't eaten since the toast you made me have this morning."

The blonde shook her head, knowing better than to reprimand the older woman for not taking care of herself. She started taking the containers out of the bag and they sat down to eat.

"You are unusually quiet. What are you thinking?" Asked the brunette in between bites.

Emma had finished eating already and was looking down at her shoes. She looked up and studied the brunette's face. There was a long pause. "Let's have a baby."

"What? Em-"

"Just hear me out." The brunette set the empty container down. "I know what you are going to say, because you had said it before. I know how important your job is. And I know that you are busy most of the time. But I work from home, I am there most of my time, except for my morning run and when I have meetings with clients." She stood up and sat on the desk in front of the other woman. "I want this. I want a family, with you." She sighed. "I'm not getting any younger and neither are you. So, what better time than now? Plus…" She grabbed the woman's hand in her own. "Maybe it'll give you a reason to want to come home more often." She said with a smirk. She knew that that was just hopeful thinking, but she did want this. Even if Regina wasn't going to be there 24/7, she wanted a family with the brunette.

Regina stared at the blonde biting her lip. "And how would you propose we do this?"

Emma smiled shyly. "Well, I was thinking, we get a donor, your eggs and my womb." She looked down. "That way it'd be a part of both of us, and you wouldn't have to miss work…"

Regina looked down at their hands and whispered. "Okay."

"Really?" Emma whispered back looking at her wife with hopeful eyes.

"Really." Regina got up and cupped the blonde's cheek with her other hand. "I want a family with you, too."

The younger woman's eyes filled with tears. "I love you, so much."

"I love you, too, darling." And leaned in to kiss the other woman.

"Mrs. Mills, your 3 o'clock is here." Interrupted the intercom.

The couple parted and smiled at each other. "Thank you, Jane. Just give me a minute."

"I better go, then." Said the blonde getting up from the desk. "See you at home?"

"See you at home." They shared another kiss and the blonde left the office.

Regina felt her vision starting to blur from the tears that were forming there. She was trying really hard to stop thinking, but with no avail. And there was still half hour to go.

4 months ago.

Emma was calling Regina but she wasn't answering her phone. The blonde had gone to her doctor's appointment alone, again, and had the same result. Negative, again.

She was upset and didn't understand why it wasn't working.

The brunette had been a lot more distant since their third failed attempt and the younger woman didn't know what to do. She was heartbroken and she needed her wife.

After a few more minutes of trying, she answered her phone. "Emma, if I don't answer my phone it is because I am busy. I am in a very important meeting. What do you need?"

Emma didn't answer. It wasn't the first time that the other woman talked to her that way but right now, it hurt more than the other times.

"So it isn't urgent, I assume."

The blonde managed to whisper out a response. "No."

"Okay then, I'll see you at home." And she hung up.

Emma cried herself to sleep.

Hours later she woke up with the sound of a closing door and walked into the living room, leaning against a wall, crossing her arms. Her eyes were red from crying but she didn't say a word.

Regina looked over at her. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

The blonde looked everywhere but the other woman's eyes.

The brunette shook her head. "I'm not doing this right now. I'm tired."

Emma looked down. "I needed you today." She managed to get out.

The older woman sighed. "I'm sorry. I was busy. I told you last month that the investors were coming this week and I was going to be swamped with work." She said with irritation.

"I know, and I wasn't asking for you to drop everything and come home. I just needed you to pick up the phone for a second."

"And I did!" The brunette huffed. Her temper rising.

Emma shook her head. "Doesn't matter." She still wasn't looking at Regina.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? You can't just start an argument and then say it doesn't matter."

"I am not starting an argument." She said softly. "I just needed my wife today. But yeah, you were busy. I get it."

"What do you want me to do, Emma? You want me to drop everything every time this thing doesn't work? Every time you are upset?" She said in disbelief.

She looked up at her wife. "I just said that that's not-"

"Then what, Emma? What do you want me to say? I have no time for this."

"You mean that you have no time for me."

"What?" She almost yelled.

"Yeah, I mean, you have time for everything else. For work, meetings, investors, contractors." She said sadly. "Everything that doesn't involve me."

"Where is this coming from?"

"Regina, our anniversary was two months ago and you still haven't noticed." A single tear escaped her eye and her voice cracked.

The brunette looked at her with a mix of shock and anger. But she was too stubborn to admit she did anything wrong. "You know what? I think that you are right." She knew she would regret this. "I have no time for anything that involves you. This job is my life and I have to focus on that, not on your mood swings and clinginess." She said without meeting the blonde's eyes.

"What?" The blonde whispered uncrossing her arms. "What are you say-"

"I love you, but I think we jumped into this too fast."

"Too fast?! Regina, we have known each other for over seven years!"

"Still, this is not working. I didn't have my job then, and I am not losing it."

"So, you'd rather lose me? What about our family? What abou-?"

"What family, Emma? It's obvious that we are never having kids. It didn't work. It's not going to work and you can't deal with the fact that I'm busy all the time."

"So that's it, then? You choose your job?" The tears were flowing freely now.

She wasn't about to back down. "Was there ever a choice?"

Regina was dying inside but she wasn't going to let it show. When the blonde didn't move or say anything she went to grab her purse from where she had left it when she got in. "I'll go stay at a hotel, or something."

Emma wiped the tears away with her palms. "Don't worry about it." She said in the coldest tone she could mage without her voice wavering. She went to grab her phone and keys from the table next to the front door. "The apartment's in your name, anyway." She opened the door and left without another word.

"Fuck."

And that's the last time they saw each other. Emma had called and texted after Regina's lawyer gave her the divorce papers, but the brunette didn't answer. Couldn't answer.

She called the blonde once, to say that she was sorry how things went down but that she believed this was the better option. In that conversation Emma told her that no matter what she said, she loved her with every fiber of her being and always would. 

The older woman ended the call after that.

They had just announced the plane had arrived and they would be boarding shortly. She started swiping the tears that escaped her eyes when she saw the blonde approaching her, having heard the announcement, too.

"You okay?" Said Emma taking the seat next to Regina.

The older woman just then noticed that the blonde was still wearing her wedding ring. "Why haven't you signed the divorce papers?"

The younger woman sighed. "Because I wanted to talk to you about some things before I did. That's why I have been calling you."

"What could you possibly want to talk to me about? We already discussed everything with our lawyers." Said the annoyed brunette.

Emma looked down and then to the older woman. "It worked." She said softly looking back down.

"What worked? Emma, what are you talking about?" She was losing her patience.  
Emma looked into brown eyes, again. "It worked, Regina. I'm pregnant." She said a little firmer this time.

"W-what? How?" She was not expecting that. "Last time we talked you weren't and it hadn't worked and-"

"That day. The one I was so upset after my appointment, I made another one for a month later and I forgot to cancel it. When the time came I said to myself, what the hell. And well, it worked." She smiled to herself and moved her hand to her lower abdomen.

Regina looked from the blonde's face to her hand. She couldn't speak.

"That's one of the reasons I'm going home. I'm thinking about moving back but I wanted to talk to my parents first. And you, of course, but you hadn't answered so-" 

She was interrupted by someone in the front desk.

"We will now be boarding passengers from groups 4 and 5."

The brunette still hadn't said anything so Emma got up. "We'll that's me." She grabbed her bag giving the older woman time to say something. Anything.

"Last call for groups 4 and 5."

"Whenever you are ready to talk, you know where to find me." She gave a soft smile to the older woman, who finally made eye contact.

Regina just nodded and Emma walked away without looking back.


	2. 36,000ft Up In The Air

She heard people talking but she couldn't focus. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak.

Emma.

Emma was pregnant.

Emma was pregnant with  _her_  child.

_Their_  child.

She wanted to run after the blonde and tell her she made a mistake. She wanted to tell her that she was sorry and that she didn't mean for any of this to happen, for all the suffering to happen.

But how does one come back from this? How could she let go of everything she was raised to do and to be? Her mother taught her to never apologize. Once she set her mind to something that was it. And her job was it. She had worked all her life to be in the position she was in.

Did she love Emma? Yes, of course she did. But her job was her priority right now. Wasn't it? All the years she spent at university then her internship and working under other people. She rose from the bottom and now she was at the top by her own merit.

Even though she could have chosen the easy way and just ask her mother to hire her directly and she would have been at the top from the beginning, but her father once told her that she needed to work for what she wanted because everything that comes easy, goes away easy.

A tap on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. "Ma'am?" Regina looked to whoever had touched her. "Ma'am is this your flight?" The brunette looked around and saw that there was no one else at the gate. She nodded. "Ma'am this is the last boarding call. The doors are about to close so you should hurry." She shook her head as if that would help clear it, grabbed her purse and went in.

She took her seat, thankful that there was no one beside her. She hadn't even noticed when her group was called in but since she was the last to board she knew the seat belonged to no one. She considered asking the stewardess to find Emma and offer the seat but she decided she wasn't ready to face the blonde, yet.

What would she tell her? Should they go through with the divorce? Yes. No. She groaned and faced the window.

It was going to be a short flight but her mind was in overdrive.

Since the minute she met Emma she knew the younger woman was going to change her life. She just didn't imagine how much.

The blonde was the reason she stood up to her mother for the first time.

_She hadn't even finished opening the front door when a voice projected towards her._

" _Regina Mills. Care to explain to me why was there a blonde, young woman in your office today? During work hours, may I add?"_

_She stopped in her tracks. "And how, mother, could you possibly know that?"_

" _Oh, dear, I own the building. Plus, you know I have eyes everywhere. Especially when it concerns you and your future after what your sister did." Said Cora, as she approached the front door._

_Regina rolled her eyes and fully entered the house. "Mother, I am not a child anymore." She let out a long breath. "And you cannot be spying on me all the time." There was a pause. "To answer your question, it was a friend."_

" _A friend? I didn't know you had friends. Your focus should be your internship, since it was you who decided to apply for it, if I might say. Not socializing."_

" _Yes, mother, I have friends" Only one, she thought to herself. She crossed her arms and looked directly at the older brunette. "And she was there for no longer than half hour, if you must know."_

" _I have no interest if she was there for an hour or a minute, Regina. This is the commencement of you working for your future, for the family business' future, and I will not have some girl from heaven knows where to ruin that for you, for us."_

_Regina was losing her patience. It was not the first time her mother attempted to control every aspect of her life. She was a grown ass 25-year-old woman, who had spent the last five years in university studying something she didn't even like just to continue her family's legacy since her older sister decided to leave the country and expand her horizons. Leaving her as the sole target of their mother's tyranny._

_She didn't ask for much. She just wanted for her mother to let her live a little. After all, everything else she just did to make her happy._

" _I am sorry, mother, but this is not your decision to make. I will not stop seeing Emma because it is what's convenient for you. I know I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am now, but she is my friend and it will remain that way, like it or not. And she can come visit me at my office whenever she likes." She wasn't going to admit it but she was as scared as she was relieved that she had stood up to her mother._

_After a few moments of complete silence and them just staring at each other, Cora let out an almost imperceptible hum. "Very well." Regina relaxed her shoulders a little. "She better not be a problem, dear. You know exactly what I am capable of." She didn't even wait for an answer as she turned around and started walking away. "Dinner will be served in twenty minutes."_

_The younger brunette let go of the breath she was holding and finally relaxed her posture. "Yes, mother." She said more to herself than anything and smirked, maybe after this she'd start regaining a little control over her own life. Maybe._

But, oh, how wrong she was. She dropped her head on the headrest and closed her eyes.

" _What do you think you are doing getting home so late?" Asked Cora as Regina entered the living room._

" _Mother, I am 26 years old. I believe I can be home at whatever time I wish."_

" _Not while you are living under this roof. Answer my question."_

_Regina crossed her arms. "I was out with Miss Swan."_

_Cora got up from where she was sitting and went to refill her drink from the pitcher of cider that was on a side table. "Why are you still mingling with that girl?" She took a sip of her drink. "It's not like she has anything to offer you, anyway. You have more important things to do than waste your time with people that can't offer you anything." She said coldly._

_Regina debated between lying and telling her mother the truth._

_She knew she had felt something for the blonde since the first time they met, but she couldn't quite pin point what it was. Until one day during a late phone call she almost told her that she loved her before hanging up. She knew it was way too early for her to be feeling that way but the blonde made her feel so many things she hadn't felt before._

_She also knew that the younger woman had never said those words to anyone, so she wanted to wait until she was ready, to avoid making the other woman feeling pressured to do so and scare her away._

_She knew nothing good would come out of this but she decided to throw all caution to the wind. It was now or never. "That's where you are wrong, mother. Emma has a lot to offer. As a matter of fact, we are dating." She held her breath._

_Cora put her glass down on the side table. "Excuse me?" She started walking slowly towards her daughter._

_Regina stood up a bit straighter as she watched her mother approaching her. "I said, Emma and I are dat-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she felt a hand slapping her hard against the side of her face but she didn't let her stance waver. It was not the first time it happened._

" _Regina." The older brunette said while trying to regain her calm. "Tell me this is some sort of sick joke you are trying to pull off."_

_She looked straight into her mother's eyes. "It is not. I am dating Emma Swan, and there is really not much you can do about it." She was fighting the urge to take her face in her hands to alleviate the pain._

_After a moment, Cora replied. "You disgust me." She went back to grab her drink. "Your father must be turning on his grave right now. You are such a disappointment."_

_She tried not to show the effect the mention of her father had on her._

" _I expected more from you. Your father and I expected more from you." She took a sip of the cider, not even looking at Regina. She seemed deep in thought looking at the paintings on the wall._

_The younger brunette didn't move from her position._

" _I want you out of my house by morning." She downed the rest of her drink, set the glass down again and walked past Regina towards the staircase but stopped for a second. "You will continue to work for this family. And if you try to do anything to jeopardize that, Regina, I swear it will be the last job you will ever have in your life." Without another word she went up the stairs._

_She knew better than to say anything. She just rubbed her temples and let out a long breath. It went better than expected._

" _I guess I'll be looking for apartment adds, tonight." She muttered to herself and went upstairs to pack her things._

She opened her eyes when the stewardess offered her something to drink but she declined since she already had to use the restroom, though she wasn't going to risk running into the blonde by accident.

She smiled sadly as she recalled the first time Emma had told her she loved her, how full and warm her whole being felt.

At the time she had thought that she couldn't feel more complete, but that changed when she asked Emma to move in with her. She was surprisingly happy, considering that her mother was making her life impossible with work. Not herself, of course, but by using others to do so.

That was until she found out, months later, that her daughter was living with the blonde.

_Regina saw the called ID and took a deep breath. Her mother only called when it was work related and it usually was to yell at her or to command her to fix something. After her last night at the house, they stopped being social to one another but Cora still managed to get on the younger brunette's nerves._

_She answered the call. "To what do I owe the pleasure this time, mother?"_

" _I want you gone." Said Cora in a clipped tone._

" _Pardon?"_

" _I said I want you gone. If you think you can be living with your mistress while in my town, you are gravely mistaken."_

_She felt rage at the way her mother referred to her girlfriend as but she was in no mood to argue. "And where exactly do you expect me to go, mother? You made it very clear that I can't work anywhere else but with you."_

_There was a long pause. "There is a position at the office in New York." Cora said in a tone the younger brunette couldn't decipher. "If you wish to continue this way of living you can apply for it. But you need to earn it." Another pause. "Unless you decide to stay here, with that partner of yours and see how her job opportunities drop to the ground."_

_Regina was in from the moment her mother mentioned New York. She would do anything just to get away from her and this place. She just needed to get Emma on board because she couldn't picture a life without her._

" _Very well." And without another word, the line went dead._

She looked out the window. The white clouds reminded her of her wedding dress. It wasn't a big wedding, after Emma's proposal, one day they decided to just do it.

They had the ceremony in a garden by a pond, Emma wore a white halter dress, deciding to have her hair pulled back in a messy, high ponytail that made her long, golden curls fall down her back, and Regina wore a mid thigh length, strapless dress, just as white.

Besides them and the officiator, only Emma's parents and best friend attended. They wanted something private where they didn't have to think about planning or invitations or hosting. They just wanted to share their love with each other and with those close to them.

Regina had sent out an invitation to her mother not really expecting her to show up and had emailed one to her sister, knowing that she probably wouldn't get a reply since the other woman was still traveling around the world. But she didn't care. All she cared about was Emma, and how happy she made her. The love they had for each other was all that mattered in that moment.

Even though Cora didn't show up at the wedding, she did make her presence known shortly after to let Regina know she had gotten the promotion and that she had two weeks to take the position.

She and Emma had already talked about it and the blonde decided to have most of their belongings packed since she was certain her wife was going to get the job. This made the move relatively easy and fast, giving them more time in the big city, which they used as their honeymoon.

She was happy. Everything was going great, until it wasn't.

It seemed that her mother's new life purpose was to make her life hell and make her spend the least amount of time with her wife.

Cora had made the  _executive_ decision to make the New York's office the main one so that every single business transaction had to be run from there and on top of that, she started hiring inexperienced people just so that Regina had to either train them or do everything herself.

She knew it was affecting her marriage. She knew she was hurting Emma in the process. That's why when the younger woman brought up the subject of them having a baby, she couldn't say no. She would do anything to see her wife happy after seeing how much pain she was causing her.

It hurt her, too, to be away from the blonde. To sleep alone on the office's couch after being used to sleeping wrapped in the woman's arms. To wake up to the sound of her assistant clocking in, instead of her wife's beautiful eyes struggling to stay open at the ungodly hours of dawn just so she could say good morning before the brunette had to leave.

It was destroying her. But she wasn't going to give her mother the satisfaction of being right. She was going to prove to her mother that she was not a disappointment; she was going to prove that she could deal with this, and with everything else the woman threw her way. She had to show Cora, that she was the only one in control of her own life, if only that was that easy.

Months passed and everything was going downhill. She was in the verge of an emotional and physical breakdown. But she couldn't give up. She had to keep going.

The problem with that is that the only thing her mind was capable of dealing with was work and proving to her mother that she was enough.

She was short tempered and moody all the time. Thing that didn't go very well with Emma's treatments due to the fact that between the both of them they were building an emotional time bomb, for different reasons, but a bomb nonetheless that was due to explode any second if they didn't do something.

So the brunette decided to do the most logical thing in her mind, which was to pull away. Extract herself from the equation and focus solely on her job.

But one morning, her mother decided to  _inform_  her that because some of the people she had to meet with couldn't make it down to New York she had to travel all the way to Prague and seal the deal. Which led into a two-hour full-blown argument over the phone.

By two in the afternoon she had an excruciating migraine, was in the middle of a meeting and her phone wouldn't stop buzzing in her pocket. She knew it was Emma but she couldn't deal with it then.

The buzzing wasn't stopping and was making her headache worse, so she excused herself from the meeting and answered her phone, immediately snapping at the blonde, feeling bad after listening how upset the other woman was, but told herself that she'd deal with it later.

Her day didn't get any better and by the time she got home she was done with everything. Emotionally and physically. She just wanted to sleep forever.

She wasn't thinking. She wasn't rationalizing. She was angry and exhausted and she just couldn't do it anymore.

Tic. Toc. The bomb went off.

For some reason she had no filter over what she was saying. Words just started pouring out of her mouth, not making any sense. She didn't even know what she was saying.

Up to the point when the front door was shut closed and she was standing alone in her living room.

The moment she realized what had just taken place she swore and ran her hands through her hair. What the hell had happened? How did she let everything get out of hand so quickly? There was no excuse for what had just transpired.

She had started pacing around as she contemplated a way to address this. Should she go after Emma? No. That would just make matters worse.

How could the blonde ever forgive her for everything she had said tonight and done through all the previous months?

Her mother was right. She was disgusting. She wasn't enough. And she definitely didn't deserve to the have the amazing woman that was Emma, in her life.

She didn't go to work for a whole week. She threw her phone against a wall without answering when her mother had called to ask why wasn't she at the office or showing up for meetings. She wasn't eating. She wasn't moving from the spot on the floor she had fallen into when she realized she had told the blonde that she basically meant nothing to her, when the truth was that she meant the whole world.

When she finally got up, she grabbed her phone and put it to charge and went to take a shower. She wasn't going to spend the rest of her life on the floor moping about a decision she made herself. She screwed up, yes. And now she had to deal with the consequences.

She had missed calls and texts from Emma but she didn't dare to open them. Instead she chose to return one of the missed calls from her mother to tell her that she had won and at last, managed to ruin her life completely.

Unsurprisingly, when Cora heard about what had occurred, she told Regina she was calling her lawyers to draft the divorce petition. Regina let her mother convince her that this was the best course of action, and the younger brunette had no strength in her anymore to refute it.

She returned to her office shortly after, to find that her workload had diminished immensely as if by magic. Of course, all her mother had wanted was to make her life miserable.

One night she was feeling especially distressed she called the blonde. She didn't know what to say, she just wanted to hear her voice. In the end she just said she was sorry about what was said but that she thought their separation was the right thing to do. The younger woman only answered by saying that no matter what, she'd love her until the end of times and Regina hung up after that.

The brunette couldn't forgive herself. She had done this. She had ripped their family apart.

She hadn't attempted to fix anything because she was having a hard time living with herself and she knew that she didn't deserve forgiveness.

She buried herself in work, ignored the calls from the blonde until one day they just stopped. She thought it was odd that she hadn't heard from Emma's lawyer, yet, to revise the papers considering it's been months, but she didn't think much of it. She figured the blonde had put it off and had finally decided to just hate her guts.

Up until today.

When she saw Emma sitting across from her, obviously playing a game on her phone, her heart stopped. She wasn't expecting to see her again anytime soon. She wanted to turn around and ignore the fact that her lost love was a few feet away.

But she couldn't. Before she could even process what was going on, her legs were dragging her towards the blonde. She was mad at herself for her lack of self-control around the other woman, so she did what she did best.

She put her mask on and snapped at her wife. She noticed that Emma was annoyed at her and surprised to see her, but she didn't seem as if she hated her. This confused the brunette, and she didn't know how to act. Which ended up with the older woman avoiding eye contact and not saying anything.

The four hour wait had gone rather quickly as her mind didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

Funny how after, the whole world seemed to pause as Emma uttered those two words.  _"I'm pregnant."_ She was going to be a mother, if the blonde wanted her in the child's life, that is. She had put the other woman through too much to even think about demanding to be in the baby's life.

She realized she had zoned out, again. They had landed and almost everyone was out of the plane. She got up and curious how destiny worked; Emma was one of the last people on the plane, as well.

She didn't know what she was going to do. She didn't know how she was going to solve this. But as she made eye contact with those gorgeous blues, she had one thing clear.

She had to figure out her shit, and fast.

 


	3. Landing or Take Off?

Emma held her breath when she made eye contact with the brunette. She wasn't really expecting for the older woman to say anything but she was still hoping.

She knew Regina well enough to know that the woman was still processing what she had told her just an hour ago and wouldn't do anything until she had sorted out her thoughts and a course of action.

After the way the woman had greeted her when she saw her earlier, she reconsidered if she wanted to tell her at all, but after thinking about it for the next few hours as she wandered around she decided that the brunette had the right to know, even if that didn't change the way things were between them at the moment.

She hadn't told her parents, yet. She wanted her still-wife to be the first to know but she hadn't found the time for it since Regina kept ignoring her calls, so she stopped trying to contact her and decided she'd try telling her again after she had spoken to her parents and figured out what to do.

But as usual, life didn't agree with her plans and they had ran into each other when she least expected it, and had to give her an answer when the brunette had asked why she hadn't signed the papers and she wasn't about to lie to the woman she still considered the love of her life. Yes, the woman had hurt her deeply, but Emma knew it wasn't all her doing. It wasn't like she was going to just forgive and forget but she knew that Regina's mother hated her and she was sure the older brunette had something to do with everything that had happened.

Regina never said anything, but since they started dating, the blonde had noticed the brunette had a difficult relationship with her mother and in a way was scared of her.

She came to the conclusion that she had to tell her there and then that she was carrying her child, so she did. Now the ball was in Regina's court, the older woman had to decide if she wanted to try and save their marriage or if she even wanted to be in the child's life at all.

As she expected, the brunette broke the eye contact first and got out of the plane after another glance at the blonde.

Emma wasn't going to make the brunette talk to her. She had given Regina enough chances to do so but it didn't happen. She told herself that if the woman didn't give her an answer before she returned back to New York to collect her things, she would sign the divorce papers.

The blonde got out of the plane and walked straight to baggage claim, she took out her phone when she got a text from her father saying that he was already waiting for her outside the airport.

She felt someone standing next to her and when she looked up she saw it was Regina, who alternated between looking at her and the belt where the bags were starting to come out. She looked down again to send a quick reply to her dad.

Regina wanted to talk to her but didn't know what to say. She wanted to apologize for being rude earlier but instead said the first thing that came to her mind. "So. Maggie and David are getting remarried?"

Emma was actually surprised the other woman had said anything, she looked up again and saw that the brunette looked rather uncomfortable and out of place. "Yeah." The blonde smiled a little. "You know how they are. They fall more in love with each other as time passes."

The brunette hummed in acknowledgement as Emma spotted her suitcase and picked it up. After a moment, Regina started again. "Look, Emma, I wanted to say I'm sor-" The blonde's phone started ringing and as she saw the caller ID she looked apologetically at the other woman.

"Give me a second." She answered the call. "Yes, dad. I'll be there in a min-" She sighed. "Okay, okay. I'm coming. Mkay. Bye." She hung up, shoved her phone in her pocket and addressed the brunette. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Dad's parked on a restricted area and is freaking out so I should get going." She pointed to the exit without looking away.

The older woman nodded but before the blonde could leave she had to ask. "Do they know?" The blonde knew what she was asking so she placed the hand that wasn't holding the suitcase's handle on the other woman's forearm and gave it a reassuring squeeze, she needed the contact to reassure herself more than anything.

"No, I wanted you to be the first to know." She gave the brunette a tight-lipped smile. All she wanted was to hug her and kiss her after all those months apart, but she knew they had a long road ahead of them if that's what the other woman wanted. She knew she wanted to fix things but it wasn't her choice to make. "Give me a call whenever you want to talk." She said softly as she walked towards the exit and through the glass doors.

Regina sighed grabbing her suitcase; she went outside and took a cab to drive her to her mother's house. She was planning on staying at her old apartment but her mother had made dinner plans with her and her sister, and due to the flight being delayed she was already late.

**XXX**

When Emma and David got home the front door was already open and the blonde had no time to step in as she felt two slim but strong arms engulf her in a tight hug. "My baby is home! I haven't seen you in forever! I missed you, pumpkin." Emma chuckled and returned the hug.

Emma's mother was mid-height; she had short, light blonde hair and dark green eyes. Emma was a perfect mix of her and her father who was tall, slim but muscular, had dark blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

"I missed you, too, mom."

Maggie let go of the hug just to grab her daughter's hand and pull her into the house. "How are you, sweetie? How was the flight? Have you eaten?" Emma turned her head around with a smile to see her dad who just shrugged wearing a smile just as big.

"It was good, mom. Yes, I did, but I could eat again." Her smile faltered a little and she let out a small sigh. "And I am okay."

The older blonde knew her daughter wasn't completely okay but she didn't push, instead she went into the kitchen and made the younger blonde sit on the table. "I made your favorite. We were going to wait for you to eat but you know how your father is when he gets hungry." The woman set a plate in front of the blonde and sat on the chair next to her. "Have you talked to her? Did you sign the papers?"

Emma took a bite and swallowed. "No and no." She took another bite and chewed slowly this time. "I mean, we talked but not about the divorce."

"When did you? Last time we spoke she was still not answering your calls…"

"Funny story, I actually ran into her at the airport on my way here." She swallowed another bite.

The older woman remained quiet and Emma got lost in thought.

" _Mom." Her voice cracked when the other woman answered the phone._

" _Emma? Honey? What's wrong? Are you alright?" The older woman said worried._

" _She wants a divorce." She said trying to hold in the sobs that wanted to come out._

" _Oh, honey, just breathe. Deep breaths."_

" _I- I don't know what happened." The distressed blonde managed to get out. "I know we were having a hard time with everything and that we both have been really stressed lately but I- I thought that we could make this work somehow. I just don't understand. I thought she loved me enough to want to fix this."_

" _Sweetie, listen to me. I am in no way saying that I condone the way she treated you, but that woman loves you to the moon and back. She might not be my favorite person right now because I know how much she hurt you, but I have seen your love grow for each other during the past seven years. I have seen how you two have overcome everything that life has thrown at you and you still remained strong." She sighed. "Now I have a question for you. What are you going to do?"_

_There was a pause accompanied by a shaky breath. "I want to talk to her. I just want her to tell me why. Like, we didn't even talk about it. Is she just going to throw what we have been building all these years away? Just like that? If she doesn't want to be with me I'm not going to make her nor I'm going to beg. I'm better than that. I just want to understand."_

" _I think that's wise, honey. Just talk to her and you'll know what to do after that, but remember that she was the one who messed up, not you. I know you and you are going to question yourself if all of this was your fault. It is not. So don't even think about it. "_

" _Okay, mom. Thank you."_

" _Don't thank me, baby. You know I am here for you, always. And your father and me are going to support you, no matter what. We love you."_

_The younger blonde gave a little smile. "I love you, too."_

"What did you talk about, then?" The older woman asked curiously, because the last time she and Emma had talked about it, the blonde's priority was to ask the brunette about her reasons.

Emma got up from the table and walked with her empty plate towards the sink. "Well, she did bring the subject up and asked why I hadn't signed the papers. She also said she was coming home because her sister got back from her endless trip." She put the plates down, still not turning around.

"What did you tell her?" Her mother asked and she placed both hands on the sink's edge.

"That I didn't because I wanted to talk to her first." She looked down at the dirty plate and glass. "And that I'm pregnant." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Emma smiled and turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm pregnant."

The older woman didn't say anything as she slowly got up from her chair and squealed as she basically ran to her daughter and threw her arms at her. "Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Are you serious? Oh, my god! I'm going to be a grandmother!"

The young blonde hugged her mother back and having heard his wife's excitement, David joined them in the kitchen. "What's all this about? What's going on?"

Maggie let go of her daughter to face her husband with tears in her eyes, a huge smile and clapping her hands. "We are going to be grandparents!"

"Are you for real?" Both women nodded and he went to hug his daughter. "I am so happy!" His voice broke a little but the smile could be heard. "Congratulations, pumpkin." He let go and stood close to his wife. "How are you feeling?" He asked his daughter.

She sighed placing both hands over her lower abdomen. "Thrilled. Ecstatic. Scared shitless." They all shared a laugh at the last statement.

The older woman nodded. "I think that's how we all feel when we find out we're bringing a new life into the world." She said looking at her daughter with a proud smile. She knew Regina and Emma had been trying to have a baby before all hell broke loose and she knew how much Emma had wanted a family with the brunette. She was sad that the situation wasn't currently the best but at the same time she was beyond excited to be a grandmother and happy that her daughter was happy as well.

"Have you gone to the doctor's, yet?" Her father asked.

"Nope. I just went to get the blood tests done but that's it. I wanted to go while I was here."

Her mother grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the living room. "How far along are you? Have you thought of names? How was the process? We have so much to talk about!" She rambled excitedly.

Emma laughed. "Let's sit down and I will answer all of your questions. My feet are killing me." She was happy and she knew that no matter what happened between her and Regina, this baby was going to be extremely loved.

**XXX**

On the other side of town, Regina had just finished having dinner with her mother and sister.

Her mother had started talking to her again after her lawyers sent the blonde the divorce papers, though she tried ignoring her most of the time.

During dinner the three of them had made small talk about Zelena's voyage, her boyfriend, Regina's work and Cora's new projects.

When they were done, Cora retired to her study to attend a phone conference, leaving the other two women alone. They sat on the backyard's porch, Regina with a glass of wine and Zelena with one of apple juice.

"Now that we are alone. Care to explain, why are you divorcing that wonderful wife of yours?" Regina glared at her older sister and rubbed her face with the hand that wasn't holding the wine glass.

"It's complicated."

"Complicated? No, Regina. It is not complicated. You are doing it all over again."

"Doing what? I am not doing anyth-" She was interrupted before she could finish.

"Yes, you are. You are letting mother control your life the way she always has."

"This has nothing to do with mother. I fucked up. Badly. It was I, not mother. I am the one that screwed everything up. All mother has done is be right. I am a disappointment." She sighed avoiding her sister's eyes.

"You are doing it again."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. I know she is our mother but you can't let the woman do this to you. Yes, you might have fucked up, as you so eloquently put it, but I bet that she had something to do with all this." She was met with silence. "Regina, I know you. And I know her. Why do you think I left? I couldn't stand the woman. All she has ever wanted was to control us. She didn't kick me out when I told her I was pregnant because I had already told her that the father is the son of a shipping company owner. All she wants is power. Always has always will, but we can't let her."

Regina was looking down at her lap where she held her glass with both hands. "I know. But it's not that easy."

"Regina. Do you love the woman?"

"You know I do."

"Exactly. And she makes you the happiest I have ever seen you. So stop being such an idiot and find a way to fix it."

"How? I hurt her so bad, Zee." She said in a small voice.

"Well, you start by growing some balls and stop being afraid of Cora."

"I don't know what to do."

"Well, you have to get your shit together before she signs the papers becau-"

"Not just about that, Zee." There was a long pause. "She's pregnant."

"Excuse me?"

"You know we were trying but it wasn't working. Apparently the last treatment did and, yeah. She's pregnant." She looked up at her sister. "She made me the happiest woman in the world, now she is giving me all I ever wanted. A family. And I had to go and screw it up. I can't even look at myself in the mirror."

Zelena stared at her. "Are you seriously going to let mother's brain washing techniques ruin this for you?" She scoffed. "I love you, I do. But sister, you are an idiot."

Regina sighed and took a big drink from her glass as the redhead got up. "I know."

Zelena walked to the sliding glass doors and turned around to face the brunette. "Fix it. Or you will continue to be miserable for the rest of your life." She said with an encouraging small smile and went inside.

"I swear I will try my best." Regina said to herself. She got up and retired to the apartment that she once shared with the woman she loved more than anything but had hurt so deeply.

When she opened the door she looked around the furnished place and memories of their life together started flashing before her eyes, still thinking about the conversation she had with her sister.

"I just really hope that it's not too late."

 


	4. Stormy Weather

"What the-" Emma stood in front of the mirror looking at herself. "I could swear you weren't there yesterday." She spoke, looking down to the baby bump that was now showing. "I guess that I need to get new clothes, soon." She sighed as she rubbed her growing belly. She was wearing tight, black leggings and a yellow tank top with black running shoes.

She went out of her room and walked to the kitchen where her mom was making breakfast and her dad was reading the paper. "Morning, mom." She went to give her a kiss on the cheek and walked behind her dad kissing him on his head before taking a seat next to him. "Morning, dad."

"Good morning, sweetie." They said at the same time.

Maggie placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front each and took the other seat next to David. "Any plans for today?" She asked her daughter.

Emma took a sip of her orange juice. "Yes, actually. I was going for my morning run after breakfast and then come back to get some work done. One of my clients called and asked if I could have his logo design by Friday instead of Monday."

The older woman took a bite of her toast and swallowed. "Honey, are you sure that that's okay? Have you talked to your doctor? I don't want you to over exert yourself."

"I did a bit of research and it said that it was fine as long as I don't push myself too hard. But I 'll make an appointment for this week, I promise." She said as she finished her eggs and placed her plate in the dishwasher. "Thanks for breakfast, mom. See you guys for dinner?" Both her parents had to go to work and she knew they wouldn't be home before six.

"Sure thing, pumpkin. Take care of yourself and my grandbaby." Said David.

Emma grabbed her running backpack and walked towards the door. "Will do. Love you guys." When she was out the front door, she stretched and started a light jog around the neighborhood.

It had been a week since she arrived and she had talked to her parents about wanting to raise her kid on the place she grew up in. They were excited that she was thinking of moving back but they knew she had things to take care of before making a final decision.

After about forty-five minutes, her feet started hurting and thought about going back to her parents' and take a hot shower but she was craving strawberry cheesecake. She hated cheesecake. But she knew exactly where to get it since it was one of Regina's favorite desserts. She hadn't had any morning sickness for the past week so she decided it was okay.

She went in the small café, sat down on a small booth and placed her order with the young waitress. She would usually just place her order on the counter and have it to go, but her feet were slightly swollen and aching.

As she waited, she looked around the place; it's where she and Regina had met. She smiled. Just a second later the bell on the door signaled the arrival of a new costumer. Call it fate, or coincidence, or whatever. It was the brunette and the blonde couldn't look away.

Regina must have felt it because she met the younger woman's eyes, and after a moment of hesitation she walked towards her. "Mind if I join you?" She asked awkwardly.

Emma didn't say anything but gestured with her hand that it was okay. In that moment the waitress approached the table with Emma's order and Regina placed hers. Black coffee, no cream, and two sugars. She looked at the blonde and raised her eyebrow, questioningly.

The blonde gave a small chuckle. "I know, I know. I hate it. But what baby wants, baby gets." She smiled as she took a spoonful of the dessert.

Regina nodded. "I see." She gave a small smile as she looked at the other woman's joyful expression. She wanted to ask about the baby but she knew that it would start a complete different conversation and decided to save the topic for later. "How have you been?"

"I've been alright." There was a pause; she didn't want to get into it. "You?"

The brunette knew there was more to it but she didn't really have the right to push the subject, anymore. "I've been alright, too, I suppose." She wasn't. "I was going to call you today." She looked down at the table. "I've had time to think." She looked up again. "And I would really like to talk. About everything."

The blonde took the spoon out of her mouth. "Okay. I can do that." She gave a small smile.

"Good." The waitress placed the large coffee in front of her. "Right now I have to go, but would you have lunch with me, later?" The brunette asked.

"Yeah, sure. Is one okay? I have some stuff to do."

"One is perfect. Meet me at the restaurant that's next to the park?" The older woman asked, getting up as the blonde nodded. "I will see you later, then."

"See you later."

Regina went to the counter to pay for her order and looked at Emma once again before leaving.

The blonde finished her dessert and asked the waitress for the bill but she informed her that it was already taken care of. She thanked the girl, got up and left.

When she got to her parents' house it was barely nine, she took a hot shower and started working on her client's logo.

Two hours later, she decided to take a power nap. When she woke up at eleven thirty, she called the hospital to schedule an appointment for this week with an obstetrician.

She still had an hour before her lunch with Regina but decided to start getting ready so she'd be on time.

If she had to admit it to herself, she was nervous. Yes, it was just lunch, but there was a possibility that this was the last lunch she'd have with the other woman as her wife.

She didn't know what to expect and that made her both anxious and relieved about getting answers.

She got dressed in a beige woolen sweater, black jeans and knee-high brown, leather boots.

Her mom had given her the keys of her car in case she wanted to go somewhere but it was a small town and she preferred walking. It was sunny, warm and she liked how the breeze caressed her face.

When the blonde got to the restaurant she realized that she had fifteen minutes to spare. Just as she was debating between going inside or waiting for the older woman to do so, a black sedan pulled over and a man got out the driver's seat and opened the back door, from where the brunette emerged.

Emma sighed and placed her hand on her belly, it was something she started doing to calm herself after she found out she was pregnant. "Let's do this." She said under her breath.

Regina saw the blonde's movement after the car dropped her off and left, swallowing the knot that formed in her throat; she hadn't noticed the other woman's stomach when she saw her earlier but now that she could clearly see the outline of it, it made her feel worse than how she felt already.

Just the thought of Emma conceiving their baby on her own because she wasn't there for her, made her want to curl herself into a ball and cry her heart out.

She was determined to do better. To be better. But it was a tough thing to do when every time she paid attention to details –details she should have been paying attention to, all along- such as this one, she was reminded of how wrong she had been all this time and how badly she had messed up.

Hopefully the conversation they were about to have would clear the air up a bit and Emma would give her a chance to redeem herself. Thing she knew she didn't deserve so she'd understand if the blonde just told her to get lost, but she was going to try nonetheless. "Hi." The brunette said with a tentative smile, trying to clear her mind.

"Hey, there." Emma said with a nervous smile, she noted.

"Shall we?" She gestured to the entrance and the blonde nodded.

The pair entered the restaurant where the receptionist ushered them to a table next to a window that viewed the park. To say that their interactions with each other were awkward and uncomfortable was an understatement.

They studied the menu and after a few minutes they placed their orders with the waiter.

"So, you wanted to talk." The blonde wanted to say some things herself but was intrigued as to how the older woman was going to approach the conversation.

The brunette cleared her throat and fidgeted with the cloth napkin that was on her lap. "Yes." She moved her hands to fold them over the table. "As I mentioned earlier I have been thinking." The waiter chose that moment to bring their drinks. "I-I want to apologize." Emma took a sip of her cherry lemonade, looking fixedly at the brunette.

Regina looked at the ceiling, taking a deep breath before looking back at the other woman. "I want to apologize for everything. I want to apologize for making you think that I didn't care about our marriage, for forgetting our anniversary. I'm sorry for not giving you enough time. I'm sorry for saying all those things I said that night. I meant one thing I said, though; I meant it when I said that there was no choice, because you were never a choice. You were everything and I should have put us, you, before everything else." She said trying to keep her voice from breaking.

Emma turned her head so she was facing the window. She seemed deep in thought for a few moments. "I appreciate your apology. But it's not what I want or need from you." After a few more minutes of silence their food was served. The blonde was still sorting out her thoughts. Regina's apology had hurt more than fixed anything. She had a feeling that the other woman didn't really have a clue of the damage she had caused.

She decided she'd finish her statement after she ate. She might have wanted to have this conversation for a long time and say her piece, but apparently her stomach had become an even bigger, endless pit and her baby was making her hungry every couple of hours.

Regina didn't know what to think. Emma had said nothing and that was never good news. In all the years they had been together, one thing she had learned about Emma Swan was that when the woman said nothing it's because hell was about to break loose.

The young blonde was already halfway through her salad whereas the brunette was taking small bites of her salmon; her nerves weren't really letting her eat. She wanted to be sick.

Minutes later when Emma was done, the waiter asked if he could remove their plates and when both nodded he asked of them to just let him know if they needed anything else.

Neither said anything for a while. Emma looked out the window again and then looked down at the table before looking straight into Regina's eyes. "I want to know why." Pause. "I want to know why you made me sleep alone for days when you decided your early meetings were more important than coming home." She took a breath. "I want to know why I spent days without knowing anything about you because you were too busy to even call me. I want to know why you used me as your personal emotional punching bag whenever things at the office went wrong."

She was getting angry. Regina had apologized, yes. But she had apologized for not giving her enough time. For forgetting. She hadn't apologized for making Emma feel like she had done something wrong. She hadn't apologized for, in a way, making her leave everything behind so that then the brunette would leave her behind. She hadn't apologized for making her feel like she was not worth it.

"I want to know why did you stop caring about our family. Why did you decide that going with me to my appointments wasn't important? I want to know why did you take decisions concerning our future and us by yourself. I want to know why did you ignore me. Why did you stop returning my calls? Why did you just forget about me? When I have pretty much been by your side and supported you and your choices through all these years." She added. "Why did you treat me like I was nothing?" Her eyes never looked away from the other woman.

"Emma-"

"No, Regina. I want to know why you made the choice of just throwing away what we have been building for over seven years. I want to know when did you decide I wasn't even worth an explanation as to why you wanted to break us apart. Did I mean that little to you? For you to just send a lawyer like _"Oh, yeah, Mrs. Mills sends this"_ and I get served with divorce papers? We didn't even talk about it. Yes, we had our disagreements. But why did you decide they weren't worth working through? " She was really close to hitting something but she kept her calm for her baby's sake.

The older woman looked down at the table, ashamed. "I didn't."

"You didn't what, Regina?" The blonde spat out.

"I didn't send the papers." She looked up and ran her hand through her hair. "My mother did."

Emma sat there in shock. She wanted to scream and yell at the other woman but she wasn't going to make a scene inside the restaurant so she slowly got up from her chair. "I need some air." She said walked outside.

The brunette paid the bill and went looking for Emma who was pacing on the sidewalk. "Ems-"

The blonde stopped and turned around abruptly. "Don't you fucking _Ems_ me, Regina Mills." She almost growled. "You mean to tell me that you were going to divorce me because your mother said so? Just like that? Did you even think about it or you just went along with that decision? Did you even try standing up for us? I knew she hated me but this is a new level of psycho." Emma was livid. She knew the older woman had issues with her mother, she knew Cora was controlling and manipulative, but this? This was all kinds of wrong. And the worst part was that Regina was going along with it.

"Emma, it's not like that." She let out a frustrated breath. "Walk with me?" She said not even waiting for an answer and she headed to the park that was across the street and Emma followed, irritated.

"What is it like then? Because you ignored my calls and my messages. You completely ignored me for more than three months. You were just done with me. Even a week ago when we saw each other, the only thing you say to me after months is ask why didn't I sign the papers. You didn't seem to have any regrets until I mentioned-" The blonde stopped walking. She felt as if someone had slapped her across the face. "That's is the only reason you are doing this, isn't it?"

"What do y-"

"All of this. The apologies, you talking to me, having lunch. It's all because of the baby, isn't it? Is that another of your mother's plan you are going along with? To take this baby away from me? Is that why you are being civil towards me? Did she tell you to be nice to me so that it would be easier to-" The blonde was almost shouting and she had both hands over her stomach as if she was trying to protect her unborn child.

"No! Emma, no. That's not-"

"Then what is it? Help me understand because right this second that looks like the only reason." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm such an idiot. Do you even love me? Do you eve-"

The brunette didn't let her continue. "Because I hated myself!" She yelled back.

"What?"

"I ignored you because I hated myself. Because I failed at everything I promised I'd do, on our wedding day, to love you, to be there for you, to be your equal and always support you. I was ashamed and couldn't even look at myself in the mirror without feeling disgusted with all the things I made you go through." The brunette looked down at the grass and then back at the younger woman. "I was embarrassed and too proud to admit that me, a grown-ass, 32 ear old woman is still scared of what her mother thinks of her and is always hoping for her approval." She sighed.

"I know none of this make what I did okay, because it is far from okay. And it is not an excuse either. Yes, everything changed when you said you were pregnant, but that's because it made me realize how stupid I have been. You are not the idiot, I am. You've given me all I ever wanted since the day I met you. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life and I was a fool to think that everything was okay just because we love each other the way we do and because you were always there. I thought that leaving would make things better, that you'd be better without someone like me.'" She entered the blonde's personal space. "I was selfish for not taking your feelings into account." She grabbed both the other woman's hands in both her own. When she didn't pull away she continued. "And I know I am being selfish now for wanting you to forgive me. For wanting you to give me another chance to prove that I can be better."

Emma couldn't help it and leaned closer to rest her forehead against the brunette's. "I I-cant." She let out a shaky breath. "You really hurt me, and I can't. I can't forgive you, yet."

"I know." The older woman whispered. "I'm not asking you to forgive me just like that. All I want is a chance to prove to you and our baby how sorry I am and that I will be better. That I am better." She said a bit firmer this time. "Just let me try to fix the mess I made."

"Okay." If the brunette weren't so close, she wouldn't have heard her.

"I will try my hardest, but if I fail you are free to sign the papers and I promise you, no one is taking our baby away from you."

The blonde nodded.

"I love you so, so much, Emma." The woman moved her head so she could kiss the blonde's forehead. "And I am so very sorry for everything that I put you through. I don't deserve you." She was openly crying, now. From both regret and relief.

"Yes, you do." The tears were flowing freely. "I love you, too." She gave a broken sigh and then a small chuckle as she stepped back so she could clean her face with the palm of her hands as Regina did the same. " I think that was too many emotions for one day."

The brunette hugged herself and Emma placed her hands on her jean's back pockets. "You think?" The older woman said with a small smile.

The blonde hummed. "I think I'm going back to my parents' now, but uhm, I called the hospital today and made an appointment with an obstetrician for tomorrow, and I wanted to know if you'd like to come with me?" She knew the other woman wanted to fix things but she wasn't going to make her do anything, if she did something it had to be her own decision. "It's at nine, you don't have to come but I'd thought I'd just give you the option and-" She was rambling.

"I'd love to go with you." Her smile got wider.

"Okay, great! I'll just- yeah." She pointed to the street signaling that she was leaving.

"I could drive you, you know?" Said the older woman.

"No, it's okay. I could use the walk."

"Very well, then. See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow." The blonde smiled broadly and turned around walking away.

This was just the first step of the many Regina had to take to be able to fix her marriage and her life.

The next one? Confront Cora Mills.


	5. Overload

It was after five when Regina finally walked into the apartment. She had stayed at the park for about two hours after Emma left.

It was not like her to sit around and do nothing when she could be doing something else instead, but she had a lot to process about the conversation she just had with the blonde.

It had gone way better than what she had expected. It was hard for her to open up and show herself being vulnerable but she knew it was something she would have to do a lot in the upcoming months if she was attempting to fix things with her wife.

The younger woman was pretty much an open book with her emotions and it was only fair that she made the effort with sharing her feelings as well.

She was emotionally exhausted but at the same time she was relieved and more determined than ever to make things work out.

Dropping her purse and blazer on the living room couch, she went inside the kitchen and as she served herself a glass of white wine, she took her phone out and made a call.

" _Well, hello there, little sister. To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

"Hi Zee." The brunette took a sip of her drink. "I talked to her."

" _Did you, now? How was it?"_

"Honestly, it went better than what I expected. I thought she was going to get up from the table, slap me one and walk away." She sighed. "You should have seen her face. I really, really hurt her."

" _I know you did. But I am convinced that you will do whatever it takes to do better by her and your little one."_

The brunette smiled. "Speaking of my little one, she asked me to go to her appointment with the obstetrician tomorrow." She leaned her back against the counter. "I am so thrilled and nervous at the same time."

" _I'm quite familiar with the feeling, dear. Walsh actually passed out when he heard the heartbeat for the first time, it was hilarious."_ The redhead chuckled. _"I'm happy for you that she invited you, that's a big step for the both of you."_

"I know. We didn't discuss that specific topic other than she thinking that mother wants to take the baby away from her. Who would even think that? It's ridiculous." Silence. "Zee?"

" _Is it? Really?"_

"Come on, Zelena-"

" _I am just saying, the woman managed to take you away from her. Which aside from her parents, you are everything she has. I think it is completely reasonable that she thinks mother is capable of doing something like that."_

"I guess I hadn't thought of it that way." She looked down at her glass.

" _Have you spoken to the snake?"_

Regina scoffed. "Zelena, we have talked about this-"

" _Darling, you can say whatever you want. I love the woman, I do. She's my mother. But she is a viper." The older Mills laughed._

"Okay, okay. Fine." She gave a small smile but then it fell. "No, I haven't. I know it's not going to end well."

" _Does it ever?"_

"I guess not."

" _Put your big girl pants on, and get on with it. Because if you don't, whatever progress you made with your wife is going down the drain, sister."_

The brunette let out a frustrated huff. "Yes ma'am."

" _Good. Let me know how it goes."_

"Will do."

" _I'll leave you to it then. Love you, sis."_

"You too." The brunette hung up and downed the rest of her wine as she went to make another call. "I'm going to need something stronger than wine for this." She muttered to herself.

** XXX. **

"Oh honey, I think it's wonderful that you two finally spoke." Said Maggie after Emma had told her that she and Regina had had their conversation.

"Me too. We didn't discuss everything but we did clear the air up a bit." She bit her lip. "Do you think I did the right thing asking her to come with me tomorrow?"

"Yes, I do. No matter what happens with you two in the long run, she is the other mother of that baby and like I said, I 'm not too happy with her at the moment but I believe she deserves to be there for your baby and for you as well."

"Yeah, you are right." She entered the kitchen and went to grab a glass of water as her mother followed and sat on a stool. "I really wanted to just forgive her there and then. When her eyes got all glassy you could really see how sorry she is. It broke my heart a bit." She took a sip. "But I can't, not yet anyway. I need to know she is going to try for us. I need to know she is not going to do this all over again."

"I know, sweetie, and I agree. You did the right thing." She got up and kissed the younger blonde on her temple. "Know that no matter how everything works out in the end, your dad and I will be here for you."

"Thank you, mom. And thank you for letting me stay here while I make a decision on what to do."

"Don't be silly, sweetie. I know that you are all independent and professional now, but I wasn't going to let you stay at a hotel like you've been doing back in New York. Your room will always be here for you."

Emma hummed. "I'm still thinking about moving back here. I wanted to look for an apartment but I'm going to wait a little bit longer until Regina and I decide what to do. She's still my wife after all."

"That's alright, baby. You can stay here for as long as you need." The older blonde said as she exited the kitchen.

Just a minute later, Emma's stomach growled. She looked down and spoke to it. "You are even worse than me, aren't you?" She smiled and shook her head. "What do you feel like having before dinner? Hm?

** XXX. **

"Where did you go today? After the meeting?" Asked Cora as soon as Regina opened the apartment's door. "I was expecting for you and I to have lunch together, but you ran off, with my driver, if I may add."

"Hello to you too, mother." The older brunette went in and looked around the place; she had never been there since it was the place her daughter and the blonde used to live in. "As a matter of fact, I was having lunch with someone else." She said as she closed the door.

"And with whom? You don't exactly know a lot of people in this town."

Regina crossed her arms and stood straighter, as if that was possible. "I was having lunch with Emma."

"Oh." Said the older woman with mild disgust. "I didn't know she was here. I take it she has finally decided to sign the papers?"

"Not exactly…"

Cora stopped her wandering around and turned to face her daughter. "What to do you mean by not exactly."

"I mean that she didn't sign the papers because I asked her not to."

"And why on earth would you do that?"

"Because, mother, I love her, and she is pregnant and I want my family back."

"So it did work."

Regina was confused, she never told her mother that she and Emma were trying to have a baby, but Cora wasted no time clearing it up.

"Yes, I know about the treatments, your sister told me when she called to inform me she was coming back."

The young brunette made a mental note to strangle her sister the next time she saw her. She had specifically told her not to let their mother know.

"If that's the reason then we can solve that, the baby is biologically yours, isn't it? Once it's born we can start a custody trial and you'll have no trouble-"

"What? No, mother. It's not about that. I love that woman more than anyone I have ever loved in my life. She makes me the happiest person in the world and now she's giving me the chance of being a mother. She's all I ever wanted and needed but I was too blind to see it until you managed to ruin my life."

"Regina, dear, again with this nonsense?"

"It is not nonsense, mother, I never wanted to divorce her! I didn't even send the papers. You did! And like the fool that I am I did as you said. But I refuse to let that happen again."

"Have you been drinking? You are obviously not thinking straight. Mother knows best, dear. So you better listen to me. She is not right for you. Call her right now and tell her to sign the papers. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding the right person for you. Someone that's deserving and-"

The younger woman groaned and ran a hand through her hair, she was almost shouting. "Are you even listening to yourself right now? Are you listening to _me_? I want Emma Swan and no one else. She is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, whether you like it or not. I am tired of you trying to control every aspect of my life! All I have ever done is try to please you and live up to your expectations but I am done with it."

"Regina Mills, be careful with the tone you are taking with me. What would your father-"

"No! Stop it right there. Stop bringing daddy into every conversation we have. Stop trying to manipulate me. My father loved me, and I am sure he would have supported me with any choice I had made through my life as long as it made me happy, unlike you." She tried not to falter on her stance as Cora took a step closer.

"You ungrateful child. All your life I have been making of you a better person. I have given you all you could have ever possibly needed. And this is how you repay me? By acting like an infant? By disobeying me? I gave you your job. I made your career possible! I made you who you are today. You would be nothing without me!"

"Everything I have and everything I am I did by myself! All you did was ruin everything for me! You have made my life hell since father died! And even worse when I started going out with someone that you couldn't control. You can't stand that, can you? That you can't control her. That's the whole reason for the hatred and the threats. Plus the fact that she isn't the daughter of some rich business people." She scoffed. "That's all you have ever cared about. Power. But let me tell you something, I won't let you have that over me anymore because I fucking quit the fucking job I never even wanted!" They were only inches apart and Cora raised her hand to slap Regina but she was quicker and grabbed her arm before it could hit her.

"Let go of me!" The older woman tried to pry her arm free.

"No, mother. This is the last time you try to put a hand on me. I love you, but I am done. I am done with you and I am done with everything. Now get the hell out of my house." She dragged her mother to the front door and pulled it open with her free hand. "You are lucky that Zelena is having a kid of her own because I doubt you'll ever get to meet mine." With that she lightly pushed the woman out of the apartment and shut the door.

She pressed her back on it and let out a long breath. "I do need that drink after all." And walked directly into the kitchen.

** XXX. **

It was Thursday morning and Emma had already gone for her morning run, had breakfast and was currently taking a shower.

She was excited and nervous for her appointment. She didn't know what to expect but she was hoping that everything was going well.

She hadn't spoken to Regina other than texts where she gave the details of where to meet and at what time. When she got out of the shower it was eight fifteen, so she got ready and drove to the hospital.

When she arrived, the brunette was already there. She was pacing in the waiting room.

The blonde smiled and walked up to her. "If you keep doing that, you are going to make a hole on the floor."

The older woman was startled for a second. "Emma! Hi." She said a bit too enthusiastically as she halted her movements. "I mean, yeah, sorry. I was just- yeah."

Emma's smile got bigger. "It's okay, I get it. I'm nervous too." As they stood there just looking at each other, a nurse approached them with a history chart that needed to be filled and to let the blonde know that she'd be called to the doctor's office any second.

"Mrs. Swan-Mills?" Emma was finishing up the paperwork but stopped completely. "Mrs. Swan-Mills?" The nursed called out again.

She looked up at Regina who was sitting next to her. She hadn't used her married name since the brunette started ignoring her months back. She had a small smile on her face.

The blonde looked back at the nurse and got up from the chair. "That's me." The nurse grabbed the chart and walked them to the office.

"Ready?" Asked the brunette before they got in.

"As I'll ever be."

Doctor Palmer greeted them with a handshake and asked them to take a seat.

"So, Emma. I see in your chart that you are about thirteen weeks pregnant."

"I am."

"Hmm, artificial insemination? I take it you are the other mother?" He addressed Regina this time. She looked at Emma to verify that she wasn't regretting anything and when she didn't, the brunette nodded.

"You don't smoke, don't drink. I see you are in great physical shape." He kept reading through the paperwork. "Everything looks good so far, shall we take a look?"

They got up as the doctor guided them to a side room where the ultrasound machine was and instructed the blonde to lie down.

"This is going to feel a bit cold." He said as he applied the cold gel on the Emma's stomach.

The younger woman unconsciously moved her arm to grab her wife's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"We should be able to listen to the heart once I get a clear image." They were all looking at the little screen as he pointed it out. "This black spot here is the amniotic sac and this white little bean is your baby, let's see if we can hear anything today."

He turned on the machine's speakers and they could clearly hear a very fast beating sound. Both women got teary eyed but the doctor frowned as he moved the probe around.

Emma squeezed the brunette's hand and the older woman spoke up. "Is something wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"No, nothing's wrong, but what you are listening to right now-" He smiled. "Is two heartbeats."

The blonde sat up a bit with a worried and confused face. She looked up at Regina who was staring pointedly at the little screen, and then looked back at the doctor. "My baby has two hearts?" She frowned.

Doctor Palmer chuckled. "No, Emma. You are having two babies." He pointed again at the screen. "Identical twins, to be precise."


	6. On Board

"Twins?" Emma asked the doctor, Regina was still staring at the little screen where he pointed again.

"Yep. It's a very common occurrence when using the in-vitro method. It was hard to tell right away because they are really close to each other but-" He moved the probe around a little. "Here you can see both of them." He zoomed in the black and white image and the two small figures could be seen more clearly now.

Emma grinned so big her eyes were almost shut and the brunette had teary eyes with a huge smile on her face.

"Everything looks good, they are a bit small but that's normal with multiple pregnancies. I'll leave you guys a minute and when you are ready you can come back to my office to discuss prenatal care and clear up any questions you might have." Dr. Palmer grabbed a paper towel and cleaned the blonde's stomach before getting up and going to the other room.

The younger woman sat up on the gurney, fixed her shirt, buttoned up her jeans and placed both hands at her sides, she wondered if Regina was going to say something at all while she looked down at the floor, swinging her legs slightly since they didn't reach the floor from where she was seated.

She halted her movements when she felt the brunette shift and was now staring at two black, high heels and very toned, tanned legs. She looked up to meet the other woman's face that had an unreadable expression, and after a few seconds of eye contact she felt hands placed on each side of her face and was met with the softest kiss she had ever felt.

The blonde was startled but after a moment she closed her eyes and sighed, getting lost on those lips she had missed for what felt like forever. She raised her hands from where they were at and placed them on the older woman's waist pulling her closer. Regina kissed her harder but without deepening it too much, she didn't want to push the blonde into anything but she wanted to convey all the love and happiness she was feeling in that moment, in that small room with her wife and the image of their babies.

Emma could taste the other woman's tears as they kissed but she didn't care. She knew they had a long way to go but in that moment all she could think about was how happy and scared she was and wanted to let the other woman know that there was no one else she'd rather share this experience with.

Regina broke the kiss but didn't move away from where she was standing between the younger woman's legs. "I'm sorry, I-" Emma kissed her again.

"Never apologize for kissing me." Said the blonde as she rested her forehead against the other woman's.

"I missed you." Whispered the brunette as she lowered her hands to grab both the blonde's into hers.

"Me too." After moments of comfortable silence, Emma's face broke into a grin. "We're having twins."

Regina pulled back to see the woman in the eyes with a light chuckle. "God, yes. Who would have thought?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Emma hummed and the brunette playfully rolled her eyes. "Honestly? Emma, I am so happy right now." Her smile turned into a sad one. "I just wish I had been there with you through every step. I can't express how thankful I am that you never gave up but at the same time it breaks my heart that you had to do this all on your own because I was too immersed in my own head and had no regards towards what you were going through and feeling and-" She was crying but this time not from happiness but regret.

The blonde stood up without letting go of the other woman's hands. "Hey, I'm not going to say it's okay because it's not, but we are working it through, right?" She let go one of her wife's hands so she could wipe her tears away with her thumb. "What matters right this second is that you are here, okay?"

The older woman nodded and let out a shaky breath. "I'm just so sorry."

"I know." Emma half smiled. "We'll figure it out." She kissed the woman's forehead and gave her hand a little tug. "Come. Let's go talk to the doctor and get this over with. I'm hungry."

That made Regina snort. "Of course you are."

"Hey! I'm eating for three, you know…"

"I'm certain that's the reason." Said the older woman sarcastically.

The blonde shrugged and they walked hand in hand into the office.

"Ladies, please take a seat." Said the doctor as soon as they walked in. "Emma, I have your old blood test results here but I want to do new ones to check that everything's still in order. Both you and your babies look great so far, you should be due between weeks thirty-six and thirty-seven if everything goes according to the plan. If you are going to indulge in physical activity I'd recommend to take small breaks, plenty of fluids and under no circumstance overwork yourself, alright?" He waited until the blonde nodded. "Great, now here's a diet you can follow which includes the nutrients you and the little ones need and things you should avoid having. I'll also prescribe some vitamins as well. Do you guys have any questions?"

"When can we know the sex?" Asked the brunette which made Emma smile. She was asking herself earlier if the other woman would accompany her to her next appointment and her wife's question just answered hers.

"Well, the sex usually starts showing between weeks sixteen and eighteen, so hoping that they are not shy, we should know in about three weeks." He smiled and handed the prescription over along with a copy of the ultrasound's pictures for each woman. "Here you go. Anything else?"

Both were looking at the black and white images with matching smiles and they shook their heads no. "Okay then, if that's all I'll see the four of you very soon."

They thanked him and walked out. Emma walked to the front desk to schedule her next appointment and Regina checked her phone. She saw that she had a few text messages from Zelena asking her to call right away but she figured it could wait and she shoved her phone in her purse when she saw that the blonde was approaching her.

"All done. I need to be back in three weeks." She bit her lip and shoved her hands inside her back pockets. "Are you busy now? I was hoping we could talk about some stuff, you know, to see where we go from here."

The brunette hadn't told anyone about quitting her job and she wasn't in a hurry to find a new one. She had enough money saved up to send her grandchildren to college thanks to both her former job and the inheritance her father left her when he died, leaving her with lots of free time. "Did you have something in mind? Since you are hungry we could go a café or the diner…" She trailed off. It was barely eleven so she didn't suggest having lunch, though knowing Emma; it was possible that's exactly what the other woman wanted.

The blonde looked pensive for a minute. "I have a better idea." They walked side by side out the hospital.

Since the older woman had taken a cab to get there, they left together in Maggie's car. Emma parked on a convenience store that was just before the town line and asked the brunette to wait for her; she purchased a few items, went back inside the car and started driving.

Regina knew where they were going; there was only one place outside of town the blonde would take her. They had come across it one night when they were still dating and both wanted to get away from their hectic lives for a while.

When Emma parked again it was next to a field with some trees and an old picnic table. She turned off the engine and got out of the car grabbing the bag with the things she had just bought and waited for the older woman to do the same and approach her so they could walk towards their tree.

" _Do you have a knife?" Asked the blonde as she studied the bark of the tree._

_ Regina raised her head from where it was resting on her makeshift pillow made out of the other woman's sweater. _

" _Why on earth would you need a knife, Emma? And a better question is, what on earth would_ I _be doing with a knife?"_

_ The younger woman laughed, "It's you, Regina." The brunette huffed. "Do you have anything sharp? Or point-y? Or something?" _

_ The woman glared at her girlfriend but still sat up and grabbed her purse. "I have tweezers." She handed them over. _

" _Great!" The blonde grabbed the tweezers and started carving something on the wood._

" _Ems, what are you doing? If you ruin them you are going to buy me new ones." Said the brunette while subtly trying to see what the other woman was doing._

_ When Emma pulled back she was biting her lip and looking at her handy work, making the brown-eyed woman to do so as well. _

_ She smiled and rolled her eyes. "You are such a child." Carved on the bark of the tree it read 'E hearts R'. "Oh, what the hell, give me that." She took the tweezers from the other woman and started carving something, too. When she puled back, next to Emma's text, it read 'R hearts E'. _

_ Emma giggled and scooted closer to her girlfriend. "I love you, baby." _

_ Regina's smile got even bigger. "I love you, too, beautiful." _

When they got to the tree the brunette sat down on the grass, not really caring about ruining her skirt and rested her back on it while crossing her legs by the ankles. She noticed that the blonde was still standing up. "Everything okay?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah, it's just-" She chuckled and placed a hand on her growing belly. "This thing seems to get bigger by the second and I'm finding it hard to completely bend over." She placed the bag on the ground and managed to kneel and then sit down. "There we go."

The older woman shook her head and reached for the bag to see what Emma had bought, she pulled out the item that was out of place with an amused smile, onion and honey mustard pretzels. "Seriously?"

The blonde took both bags away from the other woman. "Shut up." They both laughed. "I got us apple juice and a fruit salad since its not quite lunch time, yet. And I'll be hungry again in about an hour." She handed her wife a juice box and a fork placing the plastic container of cut up fruit between the two of them. "So…"

"So."

"I wanted to discuss a few things with you." She grabbed a strawberry from the container and took a bite. "First of all, as I said the other day when we met at the airport, I want to move back here." She looked at the brunette who was sitting to her right and then faced forward and rested her head against the tree, sighing. "I know our situation is more than complicated at the moment. But honestly, I have no reason to stay in New York, anymore. I was there for _you,_ but I've beenliving in a hotel for the past few months."

"Emma-"

"No, just- let me finish." She fidgeted with the straw of her juice box. "I want to make this work, I do. And I'd love nothing more than to have a magic wand and fix everything and just be happy with you like we used to be. But everything that's happened changed me, and I can't be the same person that I was years ago, I can't just jump into an abysm and take decisions with my heart because now it's not only me I need to think about." She placed her hand on her growing belly rubbing it soothingly. "I need to know that you are in this with me. That you are not just going to leave me behind, _us_ behind, like you did." Her voice was breaking so she paused to regain some control back. " I need to know that I can count on you to be there. If you can't do that, I need you to let me know now, because if I have to, I'll do this alone. I'm not going back to spending days and nights waiting for you. Worrying about you and how or what you are doing. I'm not going back to crying myself to sleep because the person who promised to be there for me until the day we died couldn't even give me the time of the day, and less with two babies thrown in the mix."

"I know it's a big decision to make and I'm not saying that you _have_ to move, I just want you to know that it's something I'd like, to have you here through all of this. I want for us to do this together. But I understand if you can't or don't want to…"

"Emma, I-" The brunette cleared her throat. "I know that our relationship is a mess right now, in every aspect, and that's because of me. I can't begin to express how sorry I am because there are not enough words in the world for that. I let myself get carried away from what was really important, from what mattered the most. The day I met you, yes I wanted to kill you for ruining my shirt, but I knew that my life was going to change. And from that day on you have made me the happiest I have ever been, with your not so funny jokes, with making me camp out on the living room next to the fireplace, just being close to you makes me so happy." Regina looked down at her own hands, taking a deep breath. "I was weak, and insecure, and selfish. And that affected us. It saddens me that I was so blind not to notice what was really going on until there was no way of going back. And I know, I _know_ that there's a chance that we will never be how we were, that's my fault." She looked up and Emma with sad yet hopeful eyes. "But I want to try. I want to do this with you. I want to be there for you the way you have always been there for me. Because I love you, Emma Swan, and no matter what happens between us in the end, you will always be my happy ending. So, yes, I would very much like to move back here, I know you probably don't want to move in with me again, but I need to be near you."

There was a moment of silence until Emma moved closer and rested her head on Regina's shoulder. "Okay." She sighed and then frowned. "What about your job? That's the reason we moved there in the first place."

"Yeah, about that. I kind of quit last night." She said as she bit her lower lip.

Emma raised her head from the woman's shoulder but stayed close. "What?"

"I know what you are thinking, and no, I didn't do it because of what's happening between us. Well, maybe a little bit, but I did it mainly because I realized it was just another way for my mother to control my life and I am not willing to keep letting that happen. I am a successful adult, I have earned everything I have achieved so far, and I will not let my mother take credit for any of it nor believe that I owe her anything for being where I am today. I am the only one who can decide over my life and even though I love her, I am just tired of anything that has to do with her, including her company. Maybe I'll look for something to keep me busy in the future, but for know, you and our babies are my only priority." Emma didn't say anything; she was just looking at her and smiling. "What?"

"You are so beautiful." She whispered.

They were just a breath away and Regina caressed her cheek with her knuckles. "Not as much as you are."

The blonde blushed and her smile got impossibly bigger, she leaned in giving the older woman a small kiss and then went back to her previous position on the woman's shoulder. After a while she felt the brunette being hesitant about something.

"Ems?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think- May I-Uhm."

Emma chuckled; she didn't have to look at her wife to know what she wanted. "You don't have to ask." She grabbed the woman's right hand and placed it over her stomach, resting hers on top.

"Thank you."

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, just enjoying being close to each other where nothing could bother them, until the blonde's stomach started growling, that is.

They finished the fruit while talking about everything and nothing but decided to call it a day when Emma started drifting off, at some point she ended up using the brunette's lap as a pillow and Regina playing with her hair wasn't helping her tiredness following the day's events.

She dropped the older woman off after promising to meet her for breakfast the next day and drove away.

The brunette checked her phone and saw that she had several missed calls and texts from her sister so she called back.

"Where have you been I thought you were dead!" The read-head said sounding relieved.

"Hello to you, too, sis. I'm fine I was with Emma today. Why would I be dead? Is everything alright?"

"Have you talked to mother?"

"No, I haven't since yesterday, why?"

"Because when she didn't show up for our lunch meeting I called her assistant and she said mother had emailed her saying that she was leaving town. Didn't say for how long or where, so naturally I assumed that after your talk yesterday she had murdered you and fled, but that's obviously not the case."

The younger sister scoffed. "The woman wouldn't have gone anywhere had that been the case, she would have proudly admitted to it. But anyway, no I have not spoken to her."

"Guess we'll have to wait and see if she appears. I have to go, I'm on Skype with Walsh, just wanted to check on you. I'll call you later to hear all about your day with the wife. Love you!"

"Love you, too."

Regina didn't want to think much about it but she couldn't help but worry about what her mother was doing and wonder if whatever she was planning had to do with her insistence on ruining her life and marriage.

All she knew was that this time around she wasn't going to let anything or anyone mess with her family.


	7. On Time

When Emma arrived to her childhood home after dropping Regina off she was nervous about telling her parents that she was having twins. A good nervous, she knew they would be ecstatic but still. On her drive back she thought of different ways tell them and at the end decided to just do it.

"Mom? Dad?" She called out as soon as she opened the front door.

"Emma!" Said Maggie almost running towards her. "How was it? How'd it go? What did the doctor say?"

David chuckled from behind her. "Honey, at least let her enter the house."

"Right. Let's sit on the couch so you can tell us all about it." Maggie said excitedly as she all but bounced into the living room.

Emma closed the door behind her and shook her head with a smile before following her parents. They sat down and she told them about what the doctor said regarding her diet, work out plan and explained that everything was looking good so far.

Doctor Palmer had printed three pictures of the ultrasound, one of baby A, one of baby B and one of both. She took one of the individual shots and gave it to her mother. "Here-" She pointed the tiny white shape. "Is your grandbaby." She said with a smile as her mother studied the picture with happy tears in her eyes.

She pulled out the other individual shot from her purse. "And here-" She gave it to her dad. "Is the other one." She bit her lower lip.

"Wha-" Maggie looked up from the picture she was staring at. "What do you mean the other one?"

The younger blonde pulled out the last picture and held it up for both her parents to see. "Say hello to your grandbabies."

"Oh, my-" Maggie gasped. "Are you for real?" She turned to look at her husband and then back at Emma who nodded. "You are having twins?!" She launched herself on the younger blonde when she nodded and gave her a tight hug.

Emma laughed as her mom pulled away to hug David. "Yeah."

"Congratulations, honey. We are so happy." Said David as they group hugged.

"We need to celebrate! I'm going to start dinner." Maggie extracted herself from the hug and dried her tears before walking to the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" David asked hugging his daughter again.

The young blonde thought about it for a second and sighed into the hug. "I couldn't be happier."

Truth to be told, she wished that the brunette was there with her. She wished that she had been with her all along.

** XXX **

It was a week after the first appointment and there were no news about Cora.

Regina was trying to be there for Emma, she really was. She met up with the blonde every morning for her workout and then they had breakfast together. Sometimes they even agreed to meet for lunch or dinner as well.

They had walks at the park, or sat by the lake, they even went to the movies together which resulted in Emma sobbing her heart out when the guy on the screen gave the girl striped leggings. Damn hormones.

In one of their 'dates', Regina told the younger woman that she needed to go back to New York to present her formal resignation, find her replacement and since she was moving back, to sell the apartment and bring back her belongings. Their belongings. But she promised to be back before the next doctor's appointment.

She really didn't want to leave. She didn't want to be away from her wife longer than she had to, even sleeping in separate houses was torture. She felt it when Emma left the apartment back in New York, but now that she saw the blonde every day and spent as much time as she could with her, it was eating her alive, being so close but yet so far at the same time.

She couldn't even imagine what must have her wife felt whenever she stayed at the office and didn't come home.

She had a hard time falling asleep every night knowing that the space next to her was empty, and it would still be empty in the morning.

_ 6 years ago _

_ Emma was walking across a hallway when her phone went off, recognizing the ringtone she didn't even check the caller ID and her face broke into a grin as she answered the call. "Hi there, gorgeous. To what do I owe this pleasure?" _

" _Hello back, beautiful. Are you busy?"_

" _Never for you." Said the blonde with a smirk._

" _Emma-"_

" _I'm serious, babe. I'm just walking to my next class, which starts in like ten minutes. So, what's up?"_

" _Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice. And let you know that I signed the contract for my new place and already moved all my clothes in. I'm so tired. But I need to go purchase a bed unless I want to sleep on the floor tonight." She sighed. Her mother had left it clear that she wasn't going to allow anyone to move furniture around in her house, including Regina's bed. Leaving her with no choice but to buy a new one._

_ There was a pause. "Stay with me tonight." The blonde chewed nervously on her lip. "I don't have early classes tomorrow so I could come with you and buy whatever it is that you need." _

" _Ems, I couldn't impose on you like that. What about your parents? What abou-"_

_ The blonde laughed. "Gina, you are not imposing anything. I'm offering. And you know my parents love you, they'll be fine with it." _

" _Are you certain they will? Are_ you _okay with it?"_

_ The younger woman could hear the uncertainty in the other woman's voice. "Yes I am. And they will be. My parents are pretty amazing." _

" _Yes, they are."_

_ Emma stopped walking and looked down at her shoes. "I can't believe your mom kicked you out. Why would she do that, anyway?" She muttered the last part. Regina hadn't gone into details that morning other than letting her know that she needed an apartment right away because her mother had kicked her out. She wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't a little bit curious. _

_ The brunette hummed on the other end of the line, she wasn't going to tell the blonde it was because her mother was a control freak and didn't approve of their relationship. "We just had a disagreement, darling. Where do you think I got my stubbornness from?" She gave a half-hearted laugh, trying to divert Emma's question. _

_ Sensing that she wasn't going to get any more answers out of her girlfriend, the younger woman chuckled along. "I know, right?" _

_ There was a comfortable silence for a moment. "I will let you go so you won't be late." _

_ Emma checked her watch, confirming that she had about a minute to get to her class. "I'll let you know when I get out, okay?" _

" _Okay, beautiful. Thank you, for everything. I'll see you in a bit."_

" _Don't mention it." She smiled and held her breath. "Gina?"_

" _Yes, darling?"_

" _I-uhm. I-" Goddamn it. "I'll see you later."_

_ Regina knew what the blonde wanted to say but also knew she was scared. To be honest, so was she. "You too, Ems." _

_ The real meaning of that last sentence didn't go unnoticed by either woman. Emma let go of the breath she was holding and when the line went dead she finished walking her way to class. _

_ Later that day when Regina arrived to Emma's house, the four of them had dinner together and after the older couple reassured the brunette it was okay for her to stay, they parted ways for the night. _

_ Emma was finishing her projects on her bedroom desk and Regina was on the blonde's bed reading. _

_ The younger woman closed her textbooks and moved to stand in front of her girlfriend, waiting to be noticed. The brunette set her book down. "So, how do you wanna do this? I can take the couch downstairs if you'd like? I want you to have the bed…" She shoved her hands in her back pockets. _

" _I'm not going to kick you out of your own bedroom, sweetie. Sleep with me?"_

" _I- are you sure?" She bit her lip._

_ Regina extended her hand for the taller woman to take and when she did, she pulled her towards her and kissed her. "Yes, I am sure." The brunette said against her girlfriend's lips. _

_ Emma smiled and kissed her again. "Okay." _

" _Okay."_

_ The blonde got up from where she was kneeling on the bed. "I'll go change and I'll be right back." _

_ The older woman nodded and picked up her book again when she heard the bathroom door shut. _

_ When Emma came back, Regina retired to the bathroom to change as well. _

_ The blonde was already in bed tucked beneath the covers when she entered the room again and was watching her every move. She turned off the lights and could see the outline of Emma's extended arm that was holding the covers up so the brunette could get in beside her. "Come be my little spoon." _

_ She smiled and got in bed. The blonde's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. They both sighed. They hadn't been intimate yet, and they were in no rush. But they had cuddled a lot, especially on their trips to the field outside the city. _

_ Emma kissed the back of her girlfriend's head. "Good night, babe." _

_ Regina was content. Happy even. She felt safe and loved. She didn't know where their relationship was headed, but as she was falling asleep she realized she never wanted what she was feeling at the moment to ever go away and that from that day on she was going to have a hard time falling asleep unless it was next to the strong, beautiful, charming, young blonde holding her in her arms. _

" _Good night, beautiful."_

** XXX **

When the brunette landed in New York the first thing she did was call Emma and let her know she arrived safely and that she already missed her.

When she arrived at the apartment she was hit with a train of mixed emotions.

She remembered when she and the blonde moved in. The memories they made. How they spent their honeymoon camping out naked in the living room whenever they weren't making love to each other or walking around the city.

She was having bittersweet memories about the times when they were happy, truly and completely happy. And then it all came crashing down because of her, the arguments, the tears, the loneliness.

She shook her head and questioned herself how in the world did she manage to fuck up the best thing in her life.

"You don't know what you have until it's gone." She sighed sadly. "Or until you mess up and push her away."

The next two weeks felt endless. Both women exchanged messages every day and they called each other at night when they were already in bed until one of them fell asleep.

Regina had managed to do almost everything she had come to do, all that was left was decide what to do with all their things. She knew Emma wanted to buy a new place, she was hoping that at some point they could live together again, but knew that for the time being it wasn't going to happen.

Her apartment was almost completely furnished so she didn't need most of the things that were here.

Emma told her that most of the things could be replaced and to just bring back the important stuff, like her Disney's Blu-ray collection.

The moving truck was loaded and she was about to call a cab to take her to the airport when she got an email informing her that there were some inconsistencies in her replacement's resume and that she needed to show up at her former office to solve whatever the issue was.

"No. No, no, no. This can't be happening right now." She checked the time. Her flight was in less than two hours and just the drive to the office was about twenty minutes without traffic. There was no way she was going to make it. "Fuck."

She took out her phone and called her wife. It didn't make it to the second ring when the blonde picked up.

"Hey, you. How's it going? Are you at the airport yet?"

"Hello back." She smiled softly. "Yeah, about that…I-I kind of won't be able to make it today." The brunette said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She was looking forward to seeing the younger woman tonight before the doctor's appointment tomorrow.

"Oh."

She could hear the disappointment in the blonde's voice. "I know! I know, I'm sorry. I was just about to call a cab to take me to the airport but something came up." She groaned in frustration. "The appointment is at noon, right? I promise I'll find the earliest flight back. I said I would be there and I will, okay?"

There was a long pause and she could hear the blonde release a deep breath. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yes, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. These things happen."

They said their goodbyes and the brunette ran her hand through her short hair pulling it lightly. She then called a cab to take her to the office instead.

Because of the traffic it took her about an hour to get to the office. Turns out the inconsistencies were a missing paper that got mixed up in the mail. So not only she missed her flight for no reason, it was just her luck that the earliest flight the next day was at 10am, meaning that if everything went as expected, she'd get back around 11:30am. Giving her barely enough time to make it to Emma's appointment.

** XXX **

Emma was sitting on the waiting room. It was ten to twelve and there was no sign of Regina. They had talked two hours earlier when the brunette called to let her know she was already at the airport but that was it.

Maggie told her she could take a day off from work to accompany her, but Emma refused. She told her mother she would be fine whether the brunette showed up or not.

She couldn't help the feeling of hurt and disappointment that washed over her, but that's what happens when you get your hopes up.

"Mrs. Swan-Mills?" She heard the nurse call out to her. "Doctor Palmer will see you now."

She stood up and looked towards the door one last time just in case. Nothing. She sighed rubbing her ever-growing bump and went inside.

The doctor greeted her and asked her how she was feeling, and if she had any questions at all.

"Is it just you today?"

Emma nodded.

"Very well. Want to find out if we can see what you are having?"

The blonde took at quick glance at the office door but gave a soft smile when she looked back at her doctor. "Yes."

"Follow me, then."

Emma laid down on the gurney and he squirted the cold gel on her stomach after she pulled her shirt up.

He moved the probe around her stomach until she could see the same image she saw last time on the little screen.

"They are developing nicely. You can see they are bigger than the last time you came in." He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile, sensing that she was upset about being alone in that moment.

"Let's listen to the heartbeats." The blonde could tell they were way stronger than what they were a few weeks back; they were louder and fast. Her eyes welled up with proud tears. Her babies were growing nicely and healthy.

"Okay, now let's see if we can-"

He stopped when he heard muffled voices approaching the office door. _"I swear to god if you don't let me in with my wife I will destroy you if it's the last thing that I do."_

Just then the door flew open showing an angry Regina and a flustered receptionist. "I'm so sorry Dr. Palmer, I tried stopping her but she just barged in and-"

He raised his hand to stop her with an amused smile. "It's alright. Please close the door."

Regina had walked to where Emma was laying down, tears falling freely from her eyes. "You came." The blonde whispered.

The brunette smiled warmly at her. "I said I would." She kissed her wife's forehead and looked at the doctor. "Sorry about that." She held Emma's hand in her own.

He chuckled. "No worries. Now, where were we?" He moved the probe around a bit more. "There it is. Ready to know what you are having?" The doctor directed a smile to both women.

When both nodded he pointed at the screen. "Do you see that?" Both looked confused because he was pointing at a black spot.

"There's nothing there." The younger woman said after a few seconds.

"Exactly." He waited to see if either woman figured it out. He saw when the brunette's eyes widened in recognition. "Congratulations ladies, you are having two little girls."


	8. Connections

The moment they got out of the doctor's office Regina grabbed Emma's face that was still wet from happy tears with both hands and kissed it all over.

Doctor Palmer explained that everything was looking good so far but he still wanted to keep the appointments every three weeks to check on the twins since they were a little small, though he assured them that it was perfectly normal at this stage.

"Thank you." Kiss. "Thank you." Kiss. "Thank you." Whispered the brunette.

Emma chuckled and gently grabbed the wrists of the other woman. "What are you thanking me for?"

Regina kissed the tip of the blonde's nose and pulled back to look her directly in the eyes. "I'm thanking you for everything. I'm thanking you for making me the happiest woman on the planet. I'm thanking you for putting up with me all these years when you should have left me for being such a bitch. I'm thanking you for giving me another chance to be here even when I don't deserve it." She paused to try and keep her voice from cracking with all the emotions she was feeling. "I'm thanking you for giving me all I ever really wanted in my life, love, a family. I am thanking you for being you." She sighed. "I know that we are not in a great place, yet, and that anything could happen. But I want you to know that you, Emma Swan-Mills, are the love of my life and that I will love until the end of times." She let go of the blonde and lowered herself so she was facing her belly and placed her hands over it. "I love you two so much already. I will do good by you and I promise I will do better for mommy."

Emma ran her hand through the brunette's hair as she spoke to their babies. "You already are." She smiled when her eyes met her wife's. Regina kissed her stomach and stood up resting her forehead against the blonde's. They were the same height since Regina was wearing heels and Emma sandals. "Thank you for coming today." Emma whispered.

"I promised I would."

"I know. I just-" The blonde sighed and closed her eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time that something more important comes up and for a second there I really thought that you weren't going to show up."

"Hey. Look at me, Emma." When the younger woman did she continued. "There is nothing more important than you and our babies. Nothing. I'm just so sorry that it took me this long to realize it." She shook her head. "Maybe _realize_ is not the word, because I always knew. I'm sorry I didn't show you how important you are to me and that I took our time together for granted."

Emma took a deep breath and smiled. "Stop saying sorry. I know you are." She had her arms around the older woman's neck and was playing with her short, black hair. "Besides, it wasn't all that bad." Her smile broadened. "I have loved every minute next to you. Yes, we are going through a rough time at the moment, but I believe we can work it out together. We all make mistakes. One step at a time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay, good. Now let's get out of here, I don't really like hospitals." She shuddered remembering the time when she was about seven years old and fell from a tree breaking her arm because she was convinced she was related to Tarzan.

When the brunette didn't attempt to move the blonde grew concerned thinking that there was something wrong. "What is it?"

"Well, I kind of came straight from the airport and brought all my luggage with me…" She pointed to a corner where indeed her suitcase and carry on were standing. "I was going to call a cab so I could take it back to the apartment. I now regret not driving my car back myself from New York." She sighed. "It should be here by next week."

"If you had you wouldn't have made it here today." The blonde gave her wife a quick kiss. "I'll drive you, and then we could go for a walk or something? If you'd like." She suggested hopefully. She had missed the other woman deeply, and after all those months they were apart before, she just wanted to be close to her wife again.

"I'd love to." The brunette returned the kiss and they walked to the car together.

Once parked in front of the building, Regina got out to take her suitcases out.

The blonde followed. "Here, let me help you."

"Emma." The older woman warned.

"What? I am pregnant not disabled."

Regina rolled her eyes in fake annoyance. "Still, I don't want you doing unnecessary effort. I got it." She knew that Emma would do what she wanted to do anyway.

The blonde stood there as if contemplating something for a second. "Let me carry your handbag then. I want to help."

"Fine."

The younger woman smiled and they went inside. It had been years since the last time she had stepped inside this building and she was both nervous and excited for all the memories she knew would come back the moment she stepped inside the apartment so once they got in the elevator she started fidgeting and unconsciously biting her lip.

Regina had given her the keys so when they reached their floor she went straight to open the door. Everything was as it was the last time she was in there except for the few things they had taken with them when they moved away. The paintings on the walls, the dining room, the living room were all the same. Emma's eyes went straight for the couch where she had told the brunette that she loved her for the first time, where she had asked her to marry her, where they made the decision to continue their life somewhere else. She started to get teary eyed. To think that all of it was hanging by a thread.

The older woman had just returned from leaving her belongings in the bedroom and rushed to the blonde's side. "Ems? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She gave a small smile. "Just my hormones messing with me."

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" The brunette asked moving a blonde strand of hair and placing it behind the other woman's ear.

"Of course." Emma leaned in to kiss her wife, both sighing when their lips connected, but before either of them could deepen it the blonde's phone went off. She retrieved it from her front pocket ready to dismiss the call until she saw the name on the screen and her face broke into a huge smile. "Give me a second." She told Regina and gave her a quick kiss before moving away to answer the call.

"Hey stranger!" Regina frowned. What was so important for Emma to pick up in the middle of a kiss? And why was she smiling so big?

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm good! You?" Why was Emma apologizing?

"Yes, today. It went really good. Ugh, tell me about it, I'm not even halfway there and I'm huge." The brunette supposed the blonde was referring to her appointment.

"She did. And they are great. Growing and healthy and beautiful." The blonde said dreamily. "Nah ah. I'm not telling. It's a surprise." Emma laughed. Who were her wife giving details about their daughters to? Wasn't it like, private? And why was she laughing? It's not that she didn't want the blonde to be happy but she hadn't laughed like that since, well, a long time.

"I miss you too." The younger woman shook her head. "Yes, and your food. You should come visit sometime." The brunette's frown deepened. Whose food is she missing? Why is she missing someone? What the hell had happened in the months they weren't living together?

"Okay. Yeah, call me later we need to catch up. You too." You too? You too, what? Regina crossed her arms and cleared her throat when the blonde hung up.

"Sorry about that."

The brunette gave a tight smile. "It's quite alright." She wasn't going to ask. It was none of her business. Emma loved her. They were married for crying out loud. "Who was that?"

The blonde smiled. "It was Ruby, a friend from New York."

The older woman hummed. "How come I hadn't heard of her before?"

"Oh. Well, we met after you know…" She shoved her phone back in her front pocket. "She is the manager of a small café I used to go to work in when I couldn't stand feeling trapped inside the hotel anymore and after a couple weeks of being there every day she started sitting with me during her lunch breaks and we just hit it off." She chuckled. "She was actually the one who suggested me taking a pregnancy test after I stopped stealing food from her because just being next to it made me feel sick."

It was Regina's turn to feel sick now. Hit it off? Seriously? How in the world did it never occur to her that Emma could _hit it off_ with someone else? Of course she would. She was charming, and wonderful and gorgeous and had a beautiful soul and was simply loveable.

How could she have been so stupid? Of course she had to let her mother control her and now the love of her life was _hitting it off_ with someone else. Someone who was probably there when Emma was having weird cravings or emotional breakdowns. Someone who made her laugh when she was literally breaking her heart.

Christ, she was such an idiot. It was so easy to fall in love with Emma Swan and she had just let her go because, because what? She didn't even have a valid excuse. She was an idiot and that's it.

And now there was this woman, this _Ruby_ person making Emma laugh. _Her_ Emma. _Her_ wife. Who did this woman think she was? Making the mother of her children laugh. Like, is she for real? That's Regina's job. Not this nobody's-

"Hey, are you okay?" The blonde asked concerned since a couple of minutes had passed and the brunette hadn't said anything. "Gina? What's wrong?" There was no answer other than the older woman's jawbone snapping shut. Emma knew that look and her frown morphed into an amused smile. "Regina Swan-Mills. Are you jealous?"

The woman didn't say a word but looked down, finding her shoes very interesting.

"Babe." Nothing. "Gina?" Nothing. "Baby, please look at me." Finally. "God, you are so fucking adorable when you pout." Emma smiled and took both the brunette's hands in her own, uncrossing her arms. "Babe, why are you jealous?"

The older woman muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?"

Regina sighed. "I said, because she was there when I wasn't and now you are _hitting it off_ and you are going to realize that I don't deserve you and you are going to fall in love with someone else and there's nothing I can do about it because it is all my fault."

Emma was trying really hard to contain the smile that wanted to break free from her face. "Baby, who am I married to?"

There was a small pause. "Me."

"Whose name is engraved on my wedding ring?"

"Mine."

"To whom did I swear to love until death did us apart and even beyond that?"

The brunette sighed. "To me."

The blonde placed one of her wife's hands over her belly. "Whose babies am I carrying inside of me?"

The brunette looked up to make eye contact with Emma. "Mine."

She grabbed the older woman's hand that was on her belly and placed it on her chest. "Regina, you have my heart, body, mind and soul. I once said that they were yours to keep and I meant it then the same way that I mean it now. No matter what happened between us, or what is going to happen in the future. I was yours, I am yours and I will forever be yours. So there's nothing for you to be jealous about."

Regina nodded and tried to break the eye contact but Emma had other plans. She gently held her in place by her chin and took a step closer. "I love you, and only you."

"And I love you." The brunette whispered.

"I know."

There were no more words needed after that. Regina closed the gap between them and kissed her wife as if her life depended on it but before things could get out of hand, Emma pulled back smiling. Not because she didn't want to go further, but because she just wasn't ready yet and the brunette knew that as well. One step at a time, she reminded herself.

Emma held out her hand for the other woman to take. "Come, let's go for that walk." She kissed her wife again. "And maybe get some food on the way. I'm starving." She said with a serious face, which caused the brunette to burst out laughing.

"Of course you are, darling, of course you are." She said with a smile as they both walked out of the apartment hand in hand.

Maybe there was hope after all.


	9. Crowded

A month has passed since they found out the twins' gender and a week since their last appointment

Regina still didn't have a job, and wasn't really looking for one, so she spent most of her time with her wife, even when the other woman had work to do, she'd stay close, either cooking or reading. When they were not taking walks, going on dates or sitting on a bench at the park talking about everything and nothing, they alternated hanging out between the apartment (Emma was pretty much living there but Regina didn't want to push and officially ask her to move back in) and the Swan household seeing that the brunette had somewhat made peace with the older couple.

" _Come on, it's just dinner with my parents." The younger woman whined._

_ The brunette shook her head lightly. "Emma, they must hate me." _

" _No they don't." Regina stared pointedly at her wife. "Okay, maybe you are not their favorite person in the world right now but they still love you. Plus, we are doing well. We'll talk it out and it'll be like before." Emma pleaded. "I just want you to be there when I tell them we are having girls." She added in a barely audible tone of voice._

_ The older woman sighed. "Fine." She'd do anything to make the blonde happy, and to be honest she missed how motherly Maggie was once towards her. She knew that she had work to do if she wanted to build back that relationship as well. _

_ Later that evening Emma squeezed the brunette's hand trying to calm her nerves before she unlocked the front door to her parent's house. When they stepped inside, footsteps could be heard approaching them. _

" _Emma, sweetie! You are back! How was it? What did the doc-" The older blonde's eagerness died down as she reached the younger women still standing by the door. "Regina."_

" _Margaret." The brunette croaked out. She looked down at the floor, ashamed and unable to meet the blonde's blank stare. "I-" She couldn't get anything out. There were no words she could say after everything she had done._

_ Emma stood still, leaning back against the door, watching how things were about to unfold. She smiled when she saw her mother sigh and shake her head, opening her arms. "Come here, child." A second passed before Regina looked up and all but threw herself at the other woman hugging her tightly. "You have been missed." _

_ The younger woman stopped trying to hold back her tears. "I am so sorry." _

_ Maggie rubbed soothing circles on her daughter-in-law's back, who was now weeping. "It is not me you need to apologize to. But don't ever do that again." _

" _I won't." She sniffed out._

_ In that moment, David entered the room and Regina extracted herself from the hug so she could gather the man's reaction to seeing her there. _

_ After what felt like forever, David opened his arms to embrace the brunette in a hug. "You won our hearts the first time Emma brought you home with her. We love you like a daughter and we will talk more about this later. But don't ever hurt my little girl like that again." _

_ Regina nodded into the man's chest still unable to speak. _

_ After a few more minutes of silence, Emma cleared her throat to break the tension a bit. "Speaking of little girls…" They all turned to face her and Maggie gasped. _

_ The older blonde turned to see the brunette who met her eyes, smiled broadly and nodded. _

" _Oh, David! We are having granddaughters!"_

** XXX. **

Now Regina was sitting across from Emma watching amused as she munched avocado slices with olive oil and pepper. "That's an interesting combination."

"I know right! But it's amazing. Want to try it?" The blonde extended her arm and offered a bite to the brunette.

The older woman studied the offered piece for a second and leaned in to take it. After a moment of savoring the new flavors she gave an answer. "I have to admit that it is better than I thought it would be."

"Of course it is." She looked down at her baby bump and rubbed it gently. "The girls have great taste." She raised her head to meet the brunette's eyes with a smug smile but after a second it dropped, as did the fork she was still holding up.

The older woman immediately grew concerned seeing the shocked expression of her wife. "Emma?" Nothing. "Emma, what's wrong?"

The blonde's eyes got glassy and she placed her other hand over her stomach. "Regina." She looked down again and her wife quickly got out of her seat and kneeled in front of her, not caring they were in a public place and people were most likely watching.

"Ems, darling, what's wrong? Talk to me." She said furrowing her brow fearing that something had happened to their girls.

"Not- Nothing's wrong. I just-" The blonde stuttered and her face broke into a smile and her tears started falling without her even noticing. "Regina, they're moving."

"What d-" Her sentence died down.

Emma chuckled after coming back from her state of surprise. "They're moving!" The blonde grabbed the other woman's hand that was still resting on her knee and placed it over her bump.

She didn't have to wait long to feel the barely-there flutter. She smiled and leaned in to cover her wife's tummy with kisses. "Mommy loves you so much. I can't wait to meet you." She whispered. They had agreed a long time ago that Regina would be mommy and Emma, momma, whenever they had children. She looked up. "And I love you, Emma." She stood up and reached down to kiss her wife.

"I love you, too." She couldn't erase the smile from her face.

The brunette returned to her seat and watched as Emma resumed her eating.

She stared hard. Looking from those gorgeous blue-green eyes to her contagious smile and wondered, how in the world did she get so lucky?

** XXX **

After a walk around town and a quick trip to the store, they decided to go back to the apartment since Emma's feet were killing her. Which led them to end up in the position they were at the moment.

The blonde was sitting down on the couch, eyes closed, with her legs on Regina's lap who was giving her a very thorough foot massage.

"Mmmm. God, yes. Don't stop."

The brunette had to bite her lip not to burst out laughing. "If anyone else could hear you right now they'd think you are having the best orgasm of your life."

The younger woman sighed in contempt and let out another soft moan. "This might as well feel just as good."

Regina huffed in mock annoyance. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended."

Emma opened one eye to look at her wife and smirked, action that caused the brunette to chuckle and shake her head.

Then, Regina's phone that had been abandoned on the kitchen counter some time ago started ringing. The blonde groaned as her wife halted her ministrations and started to get up. "Noooo. Don't stop." She whined.

"You are cute when you pout." She leaned down to kiss the blonde. "I'll be right back, beautiful."

"I'm always cute." Emma said as the older woman walked into the kitchen.

After a couple minutes, Regina walked back into the living room still speaking on the phone. "I'll ask and I'll let you know. Love you too. Bye." She sat back down on her previous position and started rubbing Emma's calves up and down over her pants. "Zelena just got back from wherever it is that she was and asked if it was okay with us for her to come visit but I wanted to see if you were up for it."

She hummed. "Should she be traveling this much? I swear she's going to give birth on a plane."

"That's what I told her, but what can I say? She's stubborn. Runs in the family."

The blonde smirked. "Don't I know it? And yes I'm good with it." She lazily covered her mouth with the back of her hand and yawned. "I might need a nap first." She lowered her legs to the floor and almost managed to sit back straight. "Help me up?"

Regina smiled, got up and grabbed the other woman's hands in her own so she could pull her up. When they were face to face, they met in the middle for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you."

Inside the bedroom, the brunette sat down on the bed with her back to the headboard so that Emma could lay her head on her lap. It was a ritual they had started a few weeks back where Regina would stay with the blonde, reading to their babies until she fell asleep. She was currently reading _The Secret Garden_ because " _It is important to introduce kids to good literature from a young age."_

She played with Emma's hair until she felt her breathing deepen, signaling she had fallen asleep. She set the book on the bedside table, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was happy. She couldn't think of a place where she'd rather be other than here, with her love snuggled up to her.

She still felt immense regret for her actions in the last years but she vowed to be better, to keep improving. There was no chance in hell that she was ever going to let this slip away from her again.

** XXX. **

When Emma woke up a couple of hours later, she was alone in bed. She lied on her side and rubbed her hand over the spot where Regina was sitting earlier. She smiled, remembering how many times they had done this over the past month. She knew she hadn't officially moved in nor had the brunette asked her, but she liked spending most of her time in the apartment.

It's not like she didn't like living with her parents but she'd rather be alone with her wife. She still wanted to buy a house, more so now. The apartment wasn't small but it wouldn't be comfortable enough for the four of them down the road.

They were doing great as a couple. Regina was always there for her whether she needed her or not. She was proving that she'd do anything in her power to make amends.

There were times where she had doubts about some things, especially after the last weak-ass stunt Cora had pulled on them a few weeks back. But she truly believed that she and Regina could overcome anything together. She drifted from her train of thought when she heard hushed voices outside the bedroom.

She got up and went into the living room where her wife was sitting on the couch next to her sister drinking tea.

"Hello there, sleeping beauty." Said the redhead that was the first of the two to notice her. "Look at you! You are huge!"

Emma laughed as she walked towards the other woman to greet her. "You are one to talk." They had become good friends in the little time they had known each other. Before she had come back from New York they had only seen each other once in person a few years back and barely spoke whenever she and Regina would facetime, but now she spent a lot of time with them in the apartment while her boyfriend finished the paperwork so he could transfer.

To be honest she loved having the older woman around. She had a free spirit and was easy going.

She gave the woman a one armed; half hug since their bumps didn't let them properly hug and then, even though there was plenty of space on the couch and even more chairs nearby, she went to sit on her wife's lap.

She wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, weaving her hands through dark hair and in return Regina held her around the waist and placed a hand over her stomach. "Hey you." She whispered, resting their foreheads together.

"Hey back." The brunette smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good." She said as she looked down at Regina's lips.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Really good." She said breathlessly.

"I'm glad." Said the brunette as she closed the almost non-existent space between them and brushed her lips against the blonde's.

Emma tightened her hold on black hair and kissed the other woman fully. They were completely lost in each other until the blonde nipped the brunette's lower lip and Zelena cleared her throat amusedly behind them.

The younger woman chuckled and blushed. She had forgotten the redhead was there. "Sorry. I'll just- go and get some water."

Emma came back and sat down on the empty space next to Regina. They spent hours talking about Zelena's trip two weeks ago, about the moving back to their hometown, Emma's job, house hunting and many other topics.

After they ate there was a comfortable silence. Zee knew there was one subject that her sister didn't want to touch but she had to ask. "Reggie?" The brunette looked up with a curios face. Zelena only called her that when she wanted something. "You know I want you there when my little monkey is born…"

The brunette frowned. "But…?"

"No buts as per se. I just wanted to know if you'd still be there even if mother is too…"

Regina visibly tensed at the mention of her mother and Emma reached out to hold her hand. After a minute she answered. "I know she apologized but I am not certain that I am ready to be in the same room as she. Nonetheless, I wouldn't miss my nephew's birth for anything in the world." She gave her sister a genuine smile. "So yes, I will be there."

_ Three weeks ago _

_ Emma was working on the kitchen counter and Regina was organizing the rest of the things she had brought back from New York that she had neglected to put away. _

_ The blonde's phone started ringing and she answered. "Hey mom. Yeah, I'm okay, why?" She grabbed her glass of water to take a sip. "Did something happen?" _

_ Meanwhile in the living room the brunette's phone stated ringing as well. It was an unknown number but she picked up anyway. "Hello?" There was a pause. "Mother? What are you sorry for? What did you do?" Another pause. "What story? What couldn't you stop? Mother, calm down. Moth-" The line went dead and she stared at her phone trying to figure out what was her mother talking about. It didn't last long as the sound of a glass breaking in the other room brought her out of her confusion. "Emma?" She hurried into the kitchen. "Emma, are you okay?" She asked when she noticed that the blonde was staring at her computer screen with wide eyes, tears forming in them, her mouth slightly open in shock and all color drained from her face. Regina frowned. "Ems, what's wrong?" _

_ She walked to stand behind her wife to see what had made her so upset but halted her movements when she glanced at the screen and was met with a picture of herself making out with someone who was clearly not the woman sitting inches away from her. _

_ There was a title above the image that read, "The Rumors Weren't Rumors" and below there was a text written by some blogger, "We had heard that the heir of Mills&Mills Corporation had filed for divorce from her Swan and we didn't understand what had happened to the seemingly perfect couple. Until now. Not so perfect after all, as we can all see, the Queen decided to change flocks." _

" _What the-" What the actual fuck was going on?_

" _I think-" The blonde croaked out and placed her hand on her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick." She managed to get up from the chair and started walking out of the room. It took Regina a while to react and she tried to go after the blonde._

" _Emma-"_

_ The younger woman didn't stop, just raised her hand dismissively. "Don't" _

_ Regina didn't know what to do. The woman in the picture wasn't her. But it was her face. What the hell had her mother done? _

_ She hadn't known what to expect when her mother called after weeks of being MIA and told her she was sorry and that she was too late to stop "it" from happening. That she had sold the story months ago when the blonde didn't sign the papers and now she couldn't do anything. She asked for forgiveness over and over before hanging up. The brunette didn't know what to make of it but she was definitely not expecting this. _

_ She ran a hand through her hair and started pacing, thinking of a way to explain to Emma none of it was true. _

_ After a couple of minutes she went look for her wife since she hadn't come back. She was sitting on the bed, rubbing her belly. The brunette knocked softly on the door to alert the other woman of her presence in case she didn't want her there. As much as she wanted to defend herself, she wasn't going to upset the blonde even more right now. _

_ Emma looked up and she had tears in her eyes but didn't refuse the woman's advances when she entered the bedroom. _

" _Ems. I- I don't really know how to explain what that was. And you probably won't believe a word I say but I promise you I would never- that's not me, I-" She shook her head at her lack of abilities to formulate complete sentences right now. "I know we weren't in a great place but I would never do that to you. I don't know how to-"_

_ Emma stood up from the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know." She said quietly as she looked down at the floor. _

" _What?"_

_ The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose to contain the tears that were threatening to fall. "I know it isn't you on the picture." _

" _You do? But- how?" The brunette was confused._

_ Emma let out a watery laugh and looked up at her wife. "I work with digital editing every single day. And I'm pretty damn good at my job." She gave a little smile. "The face's skin tone is different than the rest of the body and slightly not proportionate with it." She sighed. "Plus you are not that tall and you don't own any of those clothes." _

_ Regina got closer. "Then what-" She swallowed. If Emma knew it wasn't real since the beginning what had made her so upset? "What's wrong?" _

_ The blonde moved her head sideways so she wasn't looking at her wife in the eyes. "I knew it was fake. But- but seeing you with someone else- just-" Her voice started breaking so she crossed her arms tighter around herself. "I just can't stand it." Then she started sobbing and the brunette rapidly closed the rest of the distance between them and engulfed her wife in a tight hug as the woman cried on her shoulder. _

_ She started rubbing soothing circles on her back and placing kisses on top of her head. "Darling, that's something you never need to worry about. You are everything I ever wanted and you are all I need." _

_ They stood like that until Emma stopped crying. "I had no idea my mother was capable of doing something like this and I can't express how deeply sorry I am for the fact that she hurt you." _

_ Blue eyes met brown. "I love you." She didn't want to think anymore about her wife being with someone else. Ever. _

_ Regina sighed. "I love you. We'll work this out." _

_ Emma nodded. "We always do." _

Zelena beamed. "Now, moving to lighter topics. Any baby names yet?"

The brunette shook her head still smiling. "Nothing yet."

The blonde got up to go the restroom, again. "Speak for yourself."

Regina turned around so fast she almost broke her neck. "Excuse me?"

Emma stopped at the doorway and turned to look at the other woman with a devilish smile. "I've had names picked out since before I got pregnant." She shrugged and winked at her wife before disappearing into the next room.

Regina just sat there with a look of disbelief covering her face and a few seconds later she smirked. _Oh, Emma is so going to pay for this later._


	10. All In Between

It had been a couple of days since Zelena's visit and Regina had been nagging Emma about what had she meant when she said she had baby names already picked out. Now the blonde was brushing her teeth and Regina was leaning on the bathroom's doorway. "Tell me." She demanded for the hundredth time.

The blonde made eye contact with her pajama-clad wife through the mirror and shook her head.

"Why not?" The older woman pouted as Emma rinsed.

"Because."

"Em-ma." She whined. "I think I deserve to know what is it you have decided to name our daughters."

The younger woman dried her hands with a towel and turned around to walk towards her wife with a smirk on her face. "Do you, now?" She teased as she walked past her into the bedroom so she could change her clothes into nightwear.

Regina scoffed. "Tell me."

"Or what?" The blonde challenged from where she was standing in front of the dresser picking out an old t-shirt to sleep in. She had been leaving her things all over the place for the past month even during the few days she spent the night at her parents' and Regina would wash them and store them in the top drawer of the bedroom's dresser.

The brunette walked to where her wife was, stood behind her and breathed down her neck. "Or-" She poked her side with one finger and the blonde tensed.

"Regina Swan-Mills, don't you dare."

The older woman snaked her hands under the other woman's shirt and dragged the tips of her fingers over the blonde's ribs feigning ignorance. "I have no clue of what you are referring to."

Emma was trying really hard not to squirm. "Yes you do. Regina-" She warned barely managing to contain her giggles.

"Are you going to tell me?" She ghosted her fingertips higher and the blonde started laughing while shaking her head. "Are you sure?" She pressed more intently.

Emma had tears running down her face from laughing so hard but managed to nod while trying to pry the brunette's hands away from her sides. Had it been under different circumstances she would have succeeded but her rather large baby bump didn't exactly allow her the mobility she once had, so Regina was successfully and mercilessly tickling her and this time the blonde couldn't stop her.

After a while, when air became a necessity, she caved in. "Okaaay. Okay." She managed to get out. "Stop and I'll tell you." When the brunette stopped, Emma grabbed her hands from where they were resting on her sides to wrap their arms around her stomach and hummed when the older woman nuzzled her neck.

They stood like that in silence, holding each other, until the blonde stepped away and quietly finished changing her clothes while the brunette watched her. When she was done she walked towards the bed and after she sat down on her side, she patted the spot next to her so the other woman would join her.

When the tan woman did, with her back to the headboard, Emma lied down with her head on Regina's lap and the brunette started playing with her hair as the blonde drew circles on the other woman's thigh with her fingers.

"So, you know how I love your name and it's meaning." Said Emma and Regina chuckled.

"You may have mentioned it once or twice…or a hundred times since we met."

The blonde playfully pinched her thigh lightly and then resumed her ministrations. "Anyway. How do you feel about _Reagan_?" She bit her lip as she looked up at her wife.

" _Reagan."_ She looked thoughtful for a minute. "Little ruler." She smiled. "I like it." She continued to run her fingers through blonde curls. "Okay, one down and one to go."

The younger woman hummed. "Do you remember that talk we had years ago, about you liking names with meaning?" The brunette nodded. "You mentioned this particular one, and I was surprised because it's not a name that I pictured you choosing but then you explained what it meant and I instantly loved it-"

"Riley." The woman grinned.

"Courageous, yeah."

" _Reagan_ and _Riley."_ She moved her hand from her wife's hair and placed it on her belly. "What do you girls think?" She cooed and felt a flutter as she did. "You like that, huh?"

Emma was beaming. "They just like the sound of your voice."

" _You_ like the sound of my voice." Regina smiled back. "Did we just pick baby names?"

"Yes, I guess we did." The blonde sighed in contempt and moved her hand to place it next to her wife's.

Both women stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's presence and feeling the light baby kicks until they settled down.

"I hope they look like you." Said the blonde after a couple of minutes.

"And I hope they look like you." The brunette smiled down at her wife.

" _I think we found our guy."_

_ They were sitting on the living room couch looking through pictures of potential sperm donors. _

" _Emma." The brunette said in a serious tone._

" _What?" She replied innocently._

" _Darling, this man looks like he could be my long lost twin. I thought we had agreed on finding someone that looked somewhat like you."_

" _No._ You _agreed to that. I didn't. I've always wanted our child to look like you." She said with a big smile and the other woman sighed._

" _And it will. Have you seen my mother and I? My family has strong genes."_

" _Tell that to your sister." Emma mumbled as she took a sip of what could be her last drink for a long time._

" _Yeah, well. She takes after some great grandfather of dad's. Or something of the sort. And_ that _is a very rare occurrence." She grabbed the pictures to look through them again._

" _But babe." The blonde whined. "I would really love a mini you running around."_

" _And dear, I would_ really _love a mini us running around." She said not looking up from the pictures._

_ The blonde let out a dramatic sigh when the older woman handed her one of the pieces of paper but grabbed it nonetheless. _

_ The man did look a little like her. His hair was a lighter shade of blonde and his eyes were greener, but other than that, they shared the strong jawline, the slim but toned physique, the dimples and the freckles. _

" _Just think about it. We can make a little person that looks like the both of us. Or as close as the both of us that it can look."_

_ The younger woman didn't say anything for a moment but then smiled and leaned it to kiss her wife. "I don't really care what it looks like, as long as it's healthy and ours." _

_ Regina bit her lip and looked at the other woman straight in the eyes. "So?" _

" _So-" She playfully rolled her eyes. "We can pick this guy."_

_ The brunette took both their drinks and set the down on the coffee table in front of the couch before grabbing her wife's face and pulling her in for a breathtaking kiss. "That's settled then. Let's make a baby." She whispered. _

_ Drinks forgotten and clothes discarded, they spent the rest of the night showing each other how much they loved one another. _

** XXX. **

"Why is it that we are we taking this road again?" Emma said as she looked out the car window. "I don't think I have been to this part of town before."

It was Saturday noon and they were on their way to meet Zelena at the town's country club, or at least that's what Regina had told Emma. She had been planning this for a while but she hadn't found what she was looking for until a few days back.

"Because, the view is much prettier." Emma turned to look at her with a 'try again' look on her face. "And- I want to show you something."

After ten more minutes of driving, the brunette parked in front of a two story, white house, with black rimmed windows that were almost the same length of the walls.

There was a stone walkway that went through the middle-sized front garden and led to the front porch where a stylish outdoor loveseat was placed along with a small, rustic coffee table.

Regina got out of the car and walked to the passenger door so she could help Emma out.

"Where are we?" The blonde asked taking in the view and Regina grabbed her hand so they'd walk side by side towards the house. "Regina?"

They reached the front door and the brunette just smiled, using her free hand to take something out of her jacket pocket. "We are-" She paused for a second. "In what could be our home if you wish it to be."

Emma looked from Regina to the front door and back to Regina. "W-What?"

The older woman showed Emma the keys she was holding. "I know you wanted to have a home before the girls get here, so on my lots of free time I decided to look for something I thought would meet your wants and needs, and a few days ago I found this house that I think meets all of your requirements." She looked down at the floor and then back at her wife. "I think it's perfect but I wanted to show you first." The blonde didn't know what to say so she just nodded.

Regina let go of her hand so she could open the door. The space was wide and bright and it was both Emma's style and Regina's. It was classy but modern and it was just perfect.

She fidgeted with they keys in her hand once they were inside as Emma glanced from side to side in awe. "I know we've been pretty much living together for a little over a month after everything, even if we haven't officially talked about it, and I don't want to be presumptuous, but if you want, this could be our new home. If you'll have me again, that is."

The blonde stopped what she was doing and turned to face her wife, grabbed both of her hands in her own and pulled her in for a soft kiss. "Yes, I want a home with you again. I don't want to waste any more time apart than what we already have." She sighed. "I didn't just forget about what happened, but I already forgave you. I want this. I want us. I want our family back. I want our girls to be born in a stable home and being honest; I'm tired of being mad you. I know it probably won't be exactly as it was before New York, but it is clear to me that I won't be completely happy if you are not by my side." She chuckled and looked away before looking back straight into chocolate eyes. "I know how that sounds, and no, my happiness doesn't depend on anyone but me. But I made the decision long ago to share it with you, to share my life with you, in sickness and in health, the good, the bad and everything in between. I want it all with you. And I truly believe that we can move past this."

It was Regina's turn to be speechless so she just nodded, tears falling freely. The blonde let go of one of her hands so she could swipe them away. "I love you, Regina. Always."

The brunette tried to compose herself after a few more seconds of silence. "I don't deserve you." She sniffed. "I love you, too. So much. And I too want it all with you. I can't say it enough, I am sorry for everything that I put you through. I was selfish and all I can do now is promise that I will continue to be better for you, for our family."

Emma placed a lock of brown hair that had fallen out of place behind her ear. "I know. And you already are." They smiled at each other and she took a step back from the older woman and tugged her hand. "Come, give me a tour." And so she did.

The house was bigger on the inside than the outside. On the first floor there was a rather large kitchen adjoined to a dining room, the living room, a studio and a room that could be used as a spare bedroom. There was also the backyard that was big enough so a pool could be built in if wanted and still have garden space.

On the second floor there was an area that served as a lounge, three bedrooms, the master one with a built in bathroom and a small balcony.

When they finished their tour they sat on the outside loveseat, the only piece of furniture the house had so far, and Regina bumped Emma's shoulder playfully with her own. "So, wadya think?" She smiled and laughed internally at how Emma's vocabulary was influencing her.

"I think-" She matched her wife's smile. "That we found ourselves a new home".

"Well-" The brunette looked away. "Thank god you like it because I already paid the lease." She muttered.

"Regina!"

"What? It was the only way they were giving me the keys." She said nonchalantly. "Plus, I was confident that I know you well enough to know what you like and what you don't."

The blonde sighed. "I hope you are aware that I'm not letting you pay for the whole thing on your own."

"We'll see about that."

Emma gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

The brunette kissed the top of her head. "Me either, darling." She smiled blissfully. "Me either."


	11. Pink

When Regina entered the bedroom in only her underwear after her shower, the first thing she noticed was the position her wife was in. She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed, holding her belly and a mask of discomfort adorning her face.

She lowered the towel she was using to dry her shoulder-length hair and approached the bed. "Everything alright?"

The blonde replied with a hum and opened one eye to regard the almost naked woman. "Your daughters decided to use my liver and kidneys as a football." She cringed. "Mind talking to them? They seem to kick harder whenever I do."

The brunette lay sideways on the bed and motioned for the other woman to do the same before she started soothingly rubbing her stomach. "Are you insinuating that I'm so boring I put them to sleep?" She teased.

The younger woman snorted. "I'm saying that your voice calms them down."

"Mhm, I'm sure." She changed positions so she was facing her wife's bump without stopping her caresses. "Hello darlings." She felt a kick. "I see you are very awake this morning. Are you excited for today?" She said in a happy tone causing the little kicks to get harder and faster and the brunette chuckled as the blonde shot her a  _'you are making it worse'_  look. "Your mommies are going to get you so many things." The kicks settled down as the brunette's tone softened. "Yes, yes we are. We are going to spoil you so much." A throat cleared and Regina playfully rolled her eyes. "Okay,  _I_ am going to spoil you so much." She clarified even though both women knew they were both going to be suckers for the little ones.

She covered the younger woman's stomach in kisses before she started humming a song as the blonde ran her fingers through damp locks sighing joyfully. "They are just repositioning now." After a few minutes passed and the brunette finished the song she turned her head resting it on her wife's belly and found that the blonde was staring at her.

"What?"

Emma smiled. "I am so in love with you."

"Yeah?" The older woman said and moved again so she was lying face to face with the blonde.

"Yeah." She bit her lip and with a bit of effort and lots of leg power she managed to straddle her wife's lap. "Let me show you how much." She leaned down as much as she could to kiss the brunette who raised her head to meet her in the middle.

"I am very much in love with you, too."

**XXX.**

"Okay, so what else do we need?" Asked the taller woman as they entered the baby store.

They had moved to the new house a couple of weeks back and had already painted the nursery, bought and built the cribs and dressers.

_Emma stood on the doorway of the room they had designated to be the nursery with her hands supporting her lower back. It was wide and had three tall windows that faced the backyard._

_David, Maggie and Walsh, who had completed his transfer and was now a permanent resident of their town, had been over the whole weekend helping the younger couple move into their new home and organize everything as Emma and Zelena were made to sit still on the recently furnished living room._

_She felt the brunette approaching before she hugged her from behind. "I was thinking_ pink _." She felt Regina making a face and she rolled her eyes. "Not like **pink,**_ pink _. More like different shades of crepe pink. With chocolate brown."_

_There was silence until the older woman chuckled. "Darling, I have no clue of what you are talking about."_

_The blonde hummed. "I'll make you a sketch and you can tell me what you think."_

_Needless to say that the brunette loved the idea and so the next week was spent painting the room. The walls were painted pink, top half a light shade, and top half a darker one with a brown stripe dividing both, which made a nice contrast with the dark hardwood floor._

_The next weekend after the paint was dry, was spent buying furniture. They managed to find two identical cribs the same brown shade Emma had imagined, adorned with pink baby sheets and ribbons. Two medium sized dressers, one with a built in changer, a rocking chair, a single love seat the same cream shade as the curtains and a plush rug they placed in the middle of the room._

_Emma sat on the loveseat that was in between the cribs against a wall as Regina finished setting up a small pink lamp on top of a dresser. When the brunette turned to her wife she noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears and she rushed to her side. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked cupping the other woman's cheek._

_The blonde gave a watery chuckle. Freaking hormones. "This is really happening." She said as if her round, small watermelon shaped stomach wasn't confirmation enough. They both looked around the room. "Now what?"_

_Regina stood straighter with her hands on her hips, a huge smile on her face and a glint in her eyes. "Clothes. Lots of baby clothes."_

And that's how they found themselves strolling into the baby store a few days later.

"Other than baby clothes." Said the blonde before Regina could open her mouth to answer the first question.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Bottles, diapers, wipes, wraps, carriers, car seats, pacifiers, bassinets for our bedroom.  _Clothes._ " The latter said with much more enthusiasm.

Emma laughed and shook her head. "Okay, okay. Go browse the clothes, I'll pick the smaller things and I'll go find you after so we can get the rest together." The brunette almost squealed and kissed her wife before disappearing into the tiny clothes isles.

She grabbed a cart and started walking around. "Let's start with the diapers, shall we?" She said in the general direction of her stomach, not really expecting an answer.

**XXX.**

It had been around half hour since they parted and the blonde had yet to join her so Regina decided to look for her instead.

She imagined Emma had got caught up with the all the things in the store, but the last thing she expected was to find a bleached blonde laughing with a hand on her wife's bump.  _Why was this person touching her wife? Why was she laughing and who had given her permission to touch her daughters? Well, Emma, obviously. But still. It was unacceptable as far as she was concerned._

She took a deep breath and approached the women with a fake grin adorning her face.

Emma smiled genuinely the second she saw her wife. "Hey, babe. I was just talking about you."

Regina placed her hand on the other woman's lower back possessively. "Hey yourself, darling. All good things I hope."

"Always." Her smile broadened, seemingly oblivious to her wife's attitude. "This is Shelley. She works here, she was showing me the different types of bottles when these two started kicking like crazy."

The other blonde's hand had yet to move and it took all of Regina's willpower not to rip the arm off. "You have quite the active pair right here." She said with a smile that faltered a bit when she met the brunette's murderous gaze and slowly removed her hand.

Emma rested her head on her wife's shoulder. "I was just telling her that your voice seems to be the only thing to make them settle down."

Regina hummed without taking her eyes off the other woman.

The younger blonde shifted uncomfortably. "Right. Uhm- it was nice to meet you both." She smiled a little before addressing the other blonde. "Emma, just come looking for me if you need anything."

"Sure thing." She replied and after the younger woman was gone she nuzzled her wife's neck. "You scared her away, babe." She mumbled against the warm skin.

The brunette scoffed and wrapped her arms around the other woman. "I don't like people touching you. Didn't you see the way she was looking at you?"

"Babe, she wasn't looking at me in any way. She was probably thinking I look like a whale."

"You certainly do not. Have you seen you? You look more beautiful than ever. You are glowing and haven't gained an ounce of fat in that sexy body of yours." She smiled mischievously. "You just look like you swallowed a coconut whole."

Emma snorted and playfully swatted her wife's arm. "You are biased. And you are supposed to say those things."

"Maybe, but I mean them."

The blonde lifted her head to see if her wife was telling the truth and all she saw was sincerity and awe in chocolate eyes. "You have nothing to worry about." She looked down to red lips. "I am yours only. We are." She whispered.

The brunette wasted no time claiming pink lips with her own. She sighed and they got lost in each other until another couple and a curious toddler walked past them clearing their throats loudly, which caused for them to end their kiss and burst out laughing.

The younger woman intertwined their fingers together and tugged a little. "Come, show me  _all_ the things you picked out, knowing you, it was the whole aisle."

Regina's excitement returned full force. "Oh, Ems, they have these little ballerina onesies…"

**XXX.**

After Emma's 28th week doctor's appointment, Zelena called to invite them over for dinner, so they headed home, Emma showered and took a nap before getting some work done while Regina did some paperwork. Even after she had quit, the company kept reaching out for her as a consultant.

Apparently the new administration wasn't as good without her there to run the show, but she had vowed that this time around nothing would tear her away from her family, meaning she only took the time when Emma was busy to be busy herself.

As expected, they arrived a little early as Regina's insistence that being on time was already late.

The brunette helped Walsh finishing dinner as the pregnant ladies were sent to sit and relax. Emma protested that she was pregnant not invalid but agreed when the redhead called for her from outside the kitchen.

"I want to show you something." Said the older woman as she wobbled up the stairs and the blonde followed her to a room.

"Wow. This is beautiful Zee." She said in wonder as she took in the jungle themed nursery.

The walls were painted different shades of green, imitating foliage, and from behind the huge oak crib there was a painted tree with branches covered in leaves that followed all the way up the ceiling with animal teddies scattered all over the room.

"Don't be modest, it was your idea after all."

"I just gave you a suggestion when you mentioned you wanted green. This? This is all you."

"She's right, sis." Said the brunette from the doorway as she approached Emma to wrap her arms around her. "It is beautiful, and it suits you." The redhead smiled. "Dinner is ready." She gave her wife a kiss behind the ear and interlaced their fingers together and walked downstairs.

Once at the table and food was served, they ate and talked about everything and nothing. Walsh's work and how he was adapting, their new houses, jobs and of course, baby stuff.

When they finished, the only man in the room started clearing the dishes and the older woman spoke. "There was actually another reason for this dinner. I- we wanted to ask you-" She looked at her husband who placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. "If you wanted to be Nathan's godmothers."

The blonde was surprised to say the least; she knew she and Zelena had become really good friends during the past few months and that they were sisters in law, but to be asked to become such a big part on their son's life after knowing each other for such a short time, was a huge honor.

The brunette on the other hand was expecting it and was thrilled. She got up from her chair and went to give her sister a hug. "Yes! Of course. We'd be honored." She turned to her wife who nodded dumbly.

"I- Yes. We'd love to."

"Great! Now, why don't you come sit with me on the living room while these two finish cleaning up?"

The blonde looked at both brunettes. "Are you sure you don't need any more help? I can-" Her wife silenced her with a soft kiss.

"Don't worry about it, darling. We've got it." She winked and got back to clearing the table.

Emma nodded and walked into the living room followed by the red head. "I can't wait for these two to get here but I love not doing the dishes." She chuckled.

"I know what you mean I-" Her sentence was cut abruptly and she grabbed the younger woman's arm, which caused her to turn around.

"Zelena? Are you okay? What's wrong?" She met the other woman's eyes before wide baby blues looked down making the sea-green ones follow to the small puddle that was between the woman's legs.

"I believe my water just broke."

"I- Okay. Just-Uhm. Breathe. Gina? Walsh?" The blonde called out and her wife was the first to answer and she appeared in the room.

"Yes, dear? What is it?"

"We kind of have a situation here."

The brunette looked down to where the other women were starring down. "Oh, my god."

"What's going on?" Said Walsh as he walked into the room. "Oh."

The only thing that was heard after that was a loud thud as he passed out.

"For heaven's sake, why does he keep doing that?" The older woman groaned frustrated with her partner's reaction and because her contractions were starting.

The younger couple looked at each other as if trying to figure out to do next since the new father-to-be was obviously indisposed at the moment. "What do you need us to do?" Asked the younger sister, rushing to their side.

"Babe, why don't you take her to the hospital and I'll wait until daddy here wakes up and drive us there."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, yes. He'll be up in a bit. Let's do this."

"Can you walk?"

The woman moaned in discomfort as a stronger contraction hit her. "For now."

"Okay, let's go." She grabbed her sister's hands to help her walk to the car but before she turned to her wife. "I'll see you in a bit, darling."

"Yes, you will. Now, go." She kissed her goodbye before the sisters walked out the door.

She glanced and the man sprawled over the floor. "Now, how the hell do I wake you up?"

**XXX.**

Following a series of body shakes and soft slaps to the face, Walsh woke up and they rushed to the hospital, and after several promises of not passing out again, Regina gladly agreed to let him take her place.

Now, hours later, she was sitting on the waiting room with Emma who had fallen asleep a while earlier with her head resting on her shoulder.

Zelena was progressing slowly and the brunette didn't want to go anywhere until her nephew was born and Emma insisted on staying as well.

"Mm." The blonde stirred.

"Hello there, sleepyhead."

Emma smiled sleepily. "Hey yourself, beautiful."

"You okay? Are you sure you don't want me to take you home?" She said against blonde hair before Emma sat up a bit straighter.

"Yeah, I'm good. The munchkins are bouncing on my bladder though." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm sure. I'll wait here with you as long as there's a bathroom and a vending machine." She grinned. "I'm craving apple juice so bad right now." She sighed.

Regina rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course you are, darling." She moved a bit so she could talk to her daughters as the blonde ran her hand through dark locks.

She was whispering sweet nothings to Emma's stomach when she felt the hand that was playing with her hair stop and the body next to her tense completely.

"Emma?" When she looked up, sea-green eyes were starring blankly straight ahead making chocolate brown eyes follow, just to be met by equally dark eyes looking back at her.

"Regina?"

"Mother." The older woman went to take a step forward but Regina held the hand that wasn't holding her wife's up. "I assume you are here for Zelena, but if you'll excuse us-" She and Emma stood. "I'd rather not be in the same room as you."

They went to walk away but Cora cleared her throat. "Actually, I was hoping I could speak to Emma. Alone."

Regina scoffed. "Like I'm going to let that happen after everything you've done."

Emma was biting her lip after she regained her composure. "I think we should hear what she has to say."

Cora gave her a small thankful smile and Regina, after looking intently at her mother for a few seconds, let out a deep breath. "Very well, let's have it. But I am not going anywhere so start talking."


	12. Doubt

"Do I have to go?" The blonde whined.

"No, you don't have to, but I want you to go."

"But babe, I don't see the point. How can they possibly teach me how to deliver a baby? Well-" She paused to rub her belly. "Babies."

The brunette shook her head. "They're not going to teach you how to deliver, dear. They're teaching you breathing techniques and how to relax and exercises to prepare you for the delivery."

"Exercises? I know some ways to exercise." The younger woman waggled her eyebrows playfully and Regina swatted her arm gently.

"I'm serious. These are people that know what they are doing; I don't imagine that having a baby, let along two, is an easy task. I just want you, us to be as prepared as we can during this whole process. Plus it'll be a great opportunity for us to meet other new parents-to-be."

Emma bit the inside of her cheek but said nothing as she studied the pamphlets of childbirth classes her wife had given her. "Baby, please?"

The blonde groaned. "You know I can't say no when you call me baby."

Regina grinned. "We'll try one. If you don't feel comfortable we don't have to go to the rest."

"There's more than one?" Green eyes widened comically as she couldn't understand why was there a whole course to teach people how to have a baby. Wasn't that like a trial an error thing?

"Mm-hm. There is one on how to change diapers and the correct ways to hold a baby."

"We have a lot of practice in that department." She smiled widely before sighing. "Speaking of, I'm having baby Nathan withdrawals. It's been like a week since we last saw him."

The older woman nodded in agreement, she was also missing the little boy. "Darling, it's been two days, but you need to rest, don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't been feeling great." She scowled at Emma. "And you've been more tired lately. I want to avoid you any unnecessary stress. Can't be easy with my mother at Zelena's all the time and attempting to make it up to us every time she sees us."

Emma grabbed her wife's hand and brought it to her lips to kiss her knuckles. "She's really trying."

The brunette sighed. "I know. I'm just not used to her being nice."

_ Two weeks ago. _

" _Well? Say what you have to say." Regina said losing her patience when her mother stood quiet and Emma squeezed her hand in attempt to calm her down._

" _I- well. First of all, I want to apologize to the both of you." Then she looked straight into Emma's eyes but the blonde said nothing so the older woman continued. "I know we haven't officially met." Regina scoffed and Cora side-glanced at her before looking back at Emma. "Yes, I know it has been almost eight years that you have been with my daughter and being honest the only reason for not meeting sooner is that I just didn't want to."_

" _Wow. This is going great." The younger brunette said sarcastically under her breath._

" _You have to understand, I have always wanted only the best for my daughters. At the time and even for years after the two of you were together I didn't see what you could possibly give her." She paused and studied the other woman who was listening intently but hadn't moved an inch. "I mean, you were an arts student, your father is a police officer and your mother a teacher, it's not like you could provide for Regina."_

" _Are you going anywhere with this speech of yours or are you just going to insult my wife? Because if that's the case there are way better things that we could be-" She was cut off when Emma squeezed her hand again and gave her a small reassuring smile._

" _It's okay, let her finish."_

" _Yes, I- What I mean is that, I didn't see it before. The love that you two share, I just thought that Regina was acting out after her sister left, that she was doing it to spite me, the same way I thought it was a rebellious phase of hers when she came out to me and told me she liked girls, women, after her father died." Cora sucked in a breath before continuing. "I didn't see what was best for her. I was blinded by my own expectations not realizing that Regina had met hers. You see, when I was younger and even until a few months ago, all I wanted was power. Power over life, over people, over decisions, over pretty much everything." She swallowed hard. "I loved my husband dearly, but the reason I married him in the first place was because of his name and the power that it held. I fell in love with him way after that and for it I am very ashamed."_

_ She then looked at Regina with glossy eyes, silently asking for forgiveness but she was met with silence once again. "After he died I continued building our little empire, with a mindset of not letting anyone or anything come in between what I had worked so hard to accomplish. I put all the pressure on my daughters until Zelena decided to leave when she got tired of me and I couldn't let Regina do the same. So I pushed her harder and in a way I tried, sometimes accomplished, to ruin everything else in her life that didn't have to do with my ways and my very own selfish reasons. Until you came along and pretty much turned both our worlds upside down. Mine in a terrible way or so I thought. Regina stood up to me, she became harder to control and that made me lose my mind. But hers-" She smiled in a way that looked painful. "You make her the happiest I have ever seen her and for that I am grateful." _

" _In the time that I have been away I was reflecting on my actions and I can't begin to apologize for what I have done, all of it. I am extremely sorry that I tried to keep her away from you, I just wanted her to have the best in life, not realizing that you are it for her."_

" _I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but could you please give me the opportunity to make it up to you? Both of you? I had my priorities sorted all wrong and it took me a long time but I finally understand that family is what's really important. Not power, not anything else, but the people you surround yourself with. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being hated by the people I care the most about because of my wrong choices."_

_ Regina had angry tears running down her cheeks but Emma was studying the woman standing before her. After a while of excruciating silence, she spoke up. _

" _Well then. I am glad we are finally meeting, Mrs. Mills." She rubbed circles on her wife's knuckles as the woman wiped her tears away with her other hand. "Being about to become a mother myself I can understand wanting what's best for your child. But that's not what you did, I'm not going to lie and say that you didn't make my life hard as hell as a consequence of treating Regina the way you did, but it is not me you need to apologize to." She looked at her wife. "I may be collateral damage, or whatever, and I have in a way made my peace with it."_

" _Right now you are nowhere near my good graces, but if my wife agrees, I'd like to get to know you. In the meanwhile, it is your daughter you need to start making it up to, if that's what she wants." She let go of Regina's hand a placed it protectively on her stomach before taking a step closer to the other woman. "But let me be clear about something. If after this moment you do something else to mess with my family, or me, I don't care how much power you think you have, Cora Mills I will end you." She said calmly but not missing a beat. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I need to use the restroom."_

_ Both brunettes were left alone in the middle of the waiting room, Regina looking at her wife walk away and Cora looking at her daughter. "I admire her, you know?" The younger woman spoke. "I'm not saying I didn't screw up, because I did. But after you tried to make her think that I cheated on her? I have no clue how she even let you speak to her just now." _

_ She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can't do this right now. I can't even look at you. I'll be civil for the sake of my sister and nephew, but there's a lot I have to think about." She sighed and looked at her mother before walking away towards the nurse station. "We'll talk, I just can't right now." _

_ She stopped in her tracks for a moment when Cora called out to her. "I know that after everything I put you through you probably don't believe me, but I do love you." She just nodded and left. _

_ When Emma came back from the restroom she met Regina at the nurse's station and they went to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. _

_ Another couple of hours later they were announced of the arrival of Nathan Elliot Mills to the world. Ten toes, ten fingers, a head full or bright red hair and blue eyes that had everyone at the hospital falling head over heels over him. _

_ The next two weeks after baby and mom were released were spent at the Elliot's household helping out with whatever was needed or just spending time with the new addition to the family. _

_ Cora surprised everyone with how motherly and attentive she was being and even with her brunette daughter telling her not to push, she couldn't help herself with being overly nice. _

_ She tried to engage Regina in conversations, but after a while the younger woman would get frustrated, she and her mother had never had a non-work related conversation and as much as she tried to just go with it, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with her mother's attention. _

The blonde hummed and after a moment she spoke. "By the way, I've been feeling just fine. Maybe a little dizzy at times."

"That doesn't sound fine to me. And even if it's nothing you still need to rest and relax, I think they even offer a yoga class." The brunette saw her wife cutely scrunching up her face. "It'll be fun."

"Okay, okay. Let's do it."

** XXX. **

Turns out that Emma loved the classes and not just because they were indeed relaxing and she connected even more with Regina since the couples exercises were very personal, but because she also made some friends with other mothers to be.

She was by no means an introvert, she was easy going and friendly, but her whole life, consciously or not, was dedicated to the arts. Whether it was painting, or reading or listening to music and learning about its history, leaving her little time to actually go out and make friends.

One of the reasons she and Regina connected so well in the first place was their shared passion for a good movie or a book. The brunette couldn't paint to save her life, but she was surprisingly a great writer.

Since she had entered the pregnancy's third trimester, the doctor's appointments were every two weeks to check that everything was progressing smoothly and according to plan.

So far, at 34 weeks, it was.

Baby A, _Reagan,_ was lower meaning that she was most likely going to be delivered first, and baby B, _Riley_ , had taken the task to kick everything that was in her way even when there wasn't much room to move.

Doctor Palmer told them that even though everything was fine, he'd rather for Emma to stay in bed rest since the twins were due any second now but he wanted to try and keep them in as long as possible, but Emma being Emma, couldn't just stay in bed and that's how a few days later they found themselves lounging on a porch swing that they had bought for their backyard.

It was already dark but it wasn't extremely cold so the blonde was wearing sweat pants and a cream-colored woolen sweater and Regina was wearing her silk pajama shorts with one of Emma's hoodies and a blanket covering their legs.

The only light was the one that was coming from inside the house and the one the full moon provided, so they were just enjoying the darkness in silence and watching the stars, Emma resting her head on Regina's shoulder but after a while she lifted her head and looked at her wife's profile before speaking. "Are you happy? With me, I mean. And this-" She gestured with her hands to the house and herself. "Our home and family?"

The brunette turned her head to look at her. "Of course I am. Why?"

Emma stayed quiet for a while and then looked down. "Just asking."

"Ems." She pushed knowing that her love had something in her mind.

"It's just-" She sighed. "I know that your mom explained why she pushed you so hard but I often wondered if the reason for you to spend so much time working was to, I don't know, get away from me." She was still looking down and started fidgeting with the hem of the blanket. "I know I sometimes am too immersed in my own little world and I talk too much about things that you probably don't understand and don't care about like the design in the freaking Victorian era." She let out a sad chuckle. "Like the times where you wouldn't come home and didn't answer your phone I wondered if maybe you were getting tired of me and would rather sleep on a hard couch than having to share a bed with your wife." She paused when her voice started to break. " I know that I am by no means perfect, but I always tried my best to be enough and when you couldn't even ask for a divorce yourself but sent someone else to do it, I knew that I wasn't." She cleaned her cheeks that were tear-stained and rolled her eyes. "I now know that other people don't determine my worth. But I still need to ask, are you happy with _me?_ Or are you just happy because of _them?"_ She rubbed her belly as she said the last part, she knew that most of her rant was hormone induced, but she still had to let it out.

Regina didn't speak the whole time because, one, she knew that if she said something the blonde wouldn't continue and, two, she was speechless. She knew that she had hurt her wife, but she didn't exactly know to what extent. She never imagined that her actions had affected Emma in such a way that she even doubted the way she was as a person.

"Emma-" She said hoping that the blonde would look at her. "My love." That worked. "I can't begin to say how sorry I am. I-" She cupped her cheek. "I never thought-" She let out a breath. "I was an idiot. An idiot that didn't appreciate the amazing woman I had in front of me. Yes, I love our daughters more than anyone could ever understand." She smiled softly. "But _you_ make me happy. _You_ , I amin love with. And it is _you_ with whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. Please never doubt that." Her heart was breaking seeing that green eyes were shinning with tears because of her and her stupidity. "You have made me happy since the day you made me spill my coffee and every day after that. Before you I didn't know what living was. There's no excuse for all the pain I put you through and all the doubt I inflicted but I need you to know that you have always been more than enough. You _are_ perfect in my eyes." She wiped the tears that were running down pale skin. "Specially when you are talking about things you love, like the design in the Victorian era." She smiled when her comment made her wife snort. "Anything else you want to ask?"

The blonde sniffed and shook her head, smiling softly. "No, let's go to bed. I think those were enough emotions for a day. Plus these two are restless tonight." She rubbed her stomach to try and soothe the girls that were moving like crazy. "Help me up?"

Regina kissed her lovingly before standing up and taking her wife's hands in her own to help her stand. "You okay?" She asked when the blonde swayed a bit after finding her footing.

"Yeah, just got dizzy for a sec."

They walked hand in hand towards the sliding door but before the brunette could open it she felt Emma halt her movements and squeeze her hand hard.

"Shit."

She turned around, concern covering her face. "What's wrong?"

Emma was holding her stomach with her free hand. "My water just broke."


	13. Plus Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update, FINALLY. Lol
> 
> Anyway, I honestly have no clue of how this delivery stuff goes or the process, I did some research but it was just a lot. But I tried to make it somewhat 'real'? I guess?
> 
> Thank you all for your comments and support on this story ((: Makes me happy. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.

Regina stood frozen in place gawking at Emma.

"Gina?" Nothing. "Regina."

The older woman opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of the water and her eyes were wide open. "W-What do you mean your water just broke? It's too early! They're not ready yet!" She started panicking.

"Apparently-" She winced a bit when a light contraction hit her. "They have their own schedule."

"What do we do? What do _I_ do!? Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you? I'm not as strong as you but I can try and-"

"Gina, babe, breathe. I can walk and we should have time. I need to change my pants 'cause it looks like I pissed myself and it's not comfortable at all." She said as she went inside the house with the other woman trailing not far behind.

"Are you sure? Do you need anything? How are you so calm?"

Emma chuckled before groaning in discomfort and took a deep breath. "Is this a bad time to mention that I have been getting cramps and a killer lower back ache for a while now?" She managed to smile apologetically to the woman that was staring at her with wide eyes her mouth agape. "And I am calm because this is what you signed me in those classes for, babe."

"Emma!" The brunette scolded. "Why didn't you say something?! We should be going to the hospital!"

"Because I didn't think it was a big deal, since they were moving so much I just assumed that it would be normal to be uncomfortable, but obviously I was wrong." She said as she looked down at the dark stain between her legs that was spreading down her thighs. "And yes, we are going in a minute. First, could you please get me clean sweats from upstairs while I call my parents?"

"Okay." Said the brunette but didn't move.

"Okay?"

"Okay, yes. Okay." She then turned and left hurriedly as to not leave the blonde alone or waiting for too long.

Meanwhile, Emma called David and Maggie to let them know she was in labor and going to the hospital, promising that she or Regina would call back once they talked to the doctor so that they wouldn't have to stay while nothing was happening. She texted Zelena and then debated between calling Cora or not but then she decided that it was Regina's choice to make.

The brunette came almost running down the stairs with Emma's sweatpants and converse shoes, having changed herself into jeans and sandals but kept the blonde's hoodie on.

Emma sat down on the living room couch after she had changed into clean bottoms and lifted her feet as much as her very pregnant belly allowed her and wiggled her toes adorably as a signal for the brunette to put her shoes on. She had started doing this a while back when bending over to put shoes on had become a difficult task and Regina had happily agreed to help.

The car ride to the hospital was quiet, both women very aware of how their lives were about to change, they were excited and scared at the same time.

When they got there and after Regina had all but yelled at the nurses to hurry the admission process since her wife was in pain, they were situated in a rather large room that had a couch, a small round table on the corner, monitors, and a bed in the middle where Emma now sat after she changed into the hospital gown a nurse had brought in when she came to check her vitals and do a quick sonogram to check on the babies, Regina standing next to her rubbing circles on her back and kissing the top of her head every now and then.

"Good lord, that fucking hurt." Said the blonde holding her stomach and squeezing hard on Regina's free hand.

Doctor Palmer walked into the room before the brunette had time to say anything. "Hello, ladies. I was going to ask how you are doing but I can see that the little ones are making you struggle." He said as he handed Emma's chart back to the nurse that accompanied him.

"Just a bit." Said the blonde sarcastically but playfully making him chuckle and Regina give her a quick kiss on the side of her head, admiring her wife's ability to maintain a good mood through the discomfort she couldn't even imagine the other woman was feeling.

"Alrighty, then. Let's see how everything is going and if we can give you something to help with the pain." He gestured for the blonde to lie back on the bed and spread her legs as he put latex gloves on. "Your vitals and the babies' look good from what I read on your chart, baby A is already in position but baby B looks like she is still trying, there's still time but we will keep monitoring you as we go, okay? I know that it's a few days earlier than we had planned but I'm confident that the girls will be just fine, maybe a little underweight, but they are fully developed by now as I told you on the last check up."

Emma nodded when he sat on a stool at the end of the bed so he could examine her.

After a couple minutes he stood up and disposed of the gloves taking the chart back from the nurse to make annotations. "Everything looks good so far, you seem to be in active labor already so if you are going to use any kind of anesthetic this would be the time to let us know. Contractions will come faster and last longer, you also seem to be advanced for a first time mom but this process could still take from one up to five hours before you actually get to the transition stage."

The blonde looked from the doctor to her wife. "What do you think?" They had discussed the subject before and even though neither of them wanted unnecessary drugs to be used during the pregnancy, they had agreed that in the end the decision would come down to how the blonde was feeling at the time of delivery.

"I think-" She paused and reached to tuck a loose blonde strand of hair behind the other's ear. "That you should do whatever it is that you are most comfortable doing, beautiful."

Emma hummed. "I don't- I don't think I want an epidural, but if you have anything else less aggressive, I'm all for it."

"Very well, then. Let's see what we can do for you. Any questions? Concerns?" When both women gave a small headshake he smiled. "The nurse will come and set you up with an IV and check on you every thirty minutes. I'll come back if something comes up or whenever the nurses let me know you are ready, all there's left to do now is wait." With that he left and a few minutes later a nurse came in to hook her up on an IV with fluids to keep her hydrated since she couldn't drink anything and sedative to help with the pain.

Moments after setting everything up and telling them to push the button next to bed if they needed anything, she left the room leaving both women alone. The blonde scooted over and patted the spot next to her for the other woman to join her. It was by no means a huge bed, but they could work with it.

Regina sat down and leaned in to give her wife a soft kiss on the lips, she then moved so she was facing the younger woman's stomach and started caressing it and giving it little kisses. "Hello, my loves. Your mommies are so excited that you are coming and can't wait to meet you." She whispered as the blonde ran her hand through dark locks. "You are loved to the moon and back, my darlings." There was a soft knock on the door and she looked up at her love to see if she was expecting someone but she was met with a shrug. "Come in." She called out.

"Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here already?" Emma said with a smile on her face as her mom approached the bed to greet her.

"I know we said we'd wait but we couldn't just stay at the house knowing that the grandbabies are on the way." Said Maggie taking at step back so David could give her daughter a kiss on the head.

Regina got up to hug them both then turned to her wife letting her know she was going to use the restroom and get coffee. "I love you." She whispered against thin, pink lips.

"Love you more."

"Not possible." She gave the older couple a warm smile and walked out the room.

"How are you feeling, pumpkin?" Asked the only man in the room.

"I'm good, dad. A little tired. Excited. Terrified." She chuckled.

"That's normal, honey. Don't worry, we are here for you." The older woman reassured her with a pat on the top of her hand.

Meanwhile, sitting on a table at the cafeteria, Regina was sipping on her black coffee and texting her sister, having decided to give her wife some alone time with her parents. The redhead wanted to be there with the brunette for support but baby Nathan was suffering from acid reflux and she didn't want to leave his side, also, bringing a crying baby into the hospital wasn't probably the best idea.

The younger sister assured her that it was completely fine and told her not to worry about it, sending lots of kisses to her nephew and wishing him to get well soon.

She closed the chat and went through her contacts, scrolling down she stopped and took a breath before pressing the green _call_ button next to the name.

Mere seconds later the call was answered. "Hello, mother. Yes, I'm all right. I'm calling to let you know that Emma is in labor and didn't know if you wanted to be here or- Yeah? Okay, good. I- uh, will see you in a bit, then." She disconnected the call and ran a hand through her short hair, then smiled to herself. She would have never in a million years imagined that's she'd be calling her mother to let her know that her grandchildren were about to be born and much less that the older woman would want to be there. Oh, how things had changed.

She got up and started her way to her wife's room but ran into David and Maggie that were on their way to the cafeteria. "What are you doing down here? Is everything okay?"

Maggie smiled at her. "Yes, sweetie. Some nurse asked us to step outside while she got examined and we decided to come grab a bite."

The brunette let out a breath she didn't know she was holding waiting for the older couple to answer and hummed. "I didn't realize I was gone that long."

David squeezed her upper arm affectionately. "It's okay, we left her just a minute ago. She mentioned she was tired so we'll just hang here or in the waiting room and let you guys rest. It's probably the last quiet time you'll have in a while." His smile reached his blue eyes. "We are so proud of you two, Regina. You'll be great moms."

She was not expecting that and could only nod when she felt a knot forming in her throat.

"We'll see you later, honey." Said the older woman and gave the brunette a sweet kiss on the cheek before walking away with her husband.

Once back upstairs, she was about to go inside the room her wife was in when a nurse she hadn't seen before stopped her. "Ma'am? I'm sorry but you can't go in."

"Excuse me?" She turned sharply to look at the woman. She was short and lacked a great amount of grace.

The woman paused for a second when she saw the murderous gaze of the woman but recovered quickly. "There's another nurse in there with the patient at the moment and only direct family members are allowed in." She said flippantly.

"Listen-" The brunette glanced down to read the nametag on the scrubs. "Darla." She took a step closer so that she was towering over the woman and looked down at her. "The _patient_ they are examining is my wife and the mother of my children. So am I going inside and no one, especially you, is going to stop me. Are we clear?"

The nurse gulped and took a step back sensing that she was being threatened. "I- yes, sir- ma'am. I'm sorry. I-I didn't know."

Regina smiled tightly. "Well, next time, dear, you should try removing the stick you've got up your ass instead of assuming. Now if you'll excuse me-" She left it at that and went inside the room closing the door behind her.

"Hey you." Said the blonde from the bed turning her head away from the male nurse that was checking her blood pressure.

"Hey yourself, darling. What's all this?" She motioned to the equipment that was around the room and wasn't there before.

"Oh!" Exclaimed the blonde enthusiastically. "My cervix is 7 centimeters dilated. Sexy, huh?" She chuckled at her own joke making the older woman smile. "So they want to be ready and brought most of the stuff they will need here."

The older woman hummed approaching the bed. "I see." She bent down to kiss her wife. "And you are always sexy to me."

The nurse cleared his throat. "Everything looks fine so far, it shouldn't be too long now. If you need anything, anything at all, please don't doubt contacting any of us at the nurse station." He smiled leaving the room after both women had thanked him.

Seconds after the door had closed; Emma shut her eyes tightly and sucked in air through her teeth when a contraction hit her. "Are you okay?" Asked the standing woman concerned.

"Mh-hm." She opened her eyes slowly and exhaled. "If this is intense, I can't imagine when they are actually coming out." She then moaned softly in discomfort. "And my lower back is killing me." She sighed.

Regina, not knowing what to do stood silent for a few seconds. "Here, lay on your side." The blonde did so without questioning her wife and the brunette joined her on the bed, spooning her from behind. She then pressed her thumb firmly on the base of the other's spine, rubbing tight circles over it.

"Mm that feels good." Was the groggy reply from Emma.

The older woman continued her ministrations and kissed a gown-covered shoulder. "Try to sleep, dear. I'll be here."

"Mkay. Gina?" She muttered receiving a humming sound from behind her. "I love you."

"And I you, my love."

It wasn't long before the young couple fell asleep, Regina with an arm protectively holding her wife.

**XXX.**

Forty-five minutes after the blonde had fallen asleep, the chocolate-eyed woman was sitting on the couch next to the bed with her head back, deep in thought with her eyes closed.

She had woken up when the nurse came in to check on Emma, which was managed without disturbing the blonde, and hadn't been able to fall back asleep. Her eyes flew open and she was up in a flash when she heard soft whimpers coming from the bed.

"Ems?" She asked tentatively.

The blonde looked up at her with glossy eyes. "Gina? Please, call someone." She got out before moaning in pain and curling up.

The brunette pushed the red button behind the bed and almost immediately two nurses came in the room. "Okay, sweetie, can you please lie on your back and spread your legs for me?" Said the older looking nurse after putting gloves on while the other one quickly checked vitals.

Emma managed but not a minute later another contraction hit her, making her groan and grab the handles of the bed, knuckles going white. "Okay, okay, deep breaths. And whatever you do, don't push." The older lady said calmly and then addressed the younger one. "Go to the station and page Doctor Palmer and the rest of the team." She looked back up at Regina who looked like she was trying to figure out what the hell was happening and at Emma that was recovering from another contraction. "Looks like the little ones are ready to meet the world."

Not long after, Doctor Palmer came walking through the door followed by some other people making the brunette recover from her state and hold one of the blonde's hands. "Hello again, ladies. Let's get this show on the road, shall we? First, meet the team with us today-" He started as one of the two nurses in the room dressed him in a gown, gloves and mask. "There's Doctor Matthews from pediatrics, to supervise, Doctor Johnson, the resident that'll make sure the girls are doing good and these lovely ladies to give me a hand." He sat once again on the stool at the end of bed. "Are you ready?" He asked the blonde who was breathing in from her nose and out through her mouth.

She gave a small nod before looking up at the woman holding her hand. "Yeah, let's do this."

"Great, so this is the plan. With your next contraction you are going to push and you are going to hold it for five seconds. Then you rest and we do it again, okay?"

The blonde nodded again.

"Whenever you are ready." The blonde took another deep breath and when her contraction started she pushed with everything she had. "Good, just like that." She did it a few more times. "Head's almost completely out, we have brunettes just like mommy." He smiled. "I need another big one for the head, okay?" She pushed again. "Wonderful! That was the hardest part. I need one more, the biggest one yet for the body and you get to meet your baby girl, can you do that?" He asked noticing that the woman was completely exhausted.

She looked up at Regina. "I'm here, baby. You can do this." The brunette told her before lifting a pale hand and placing a kiss over white knuckles.

The blonde nodded again and did as she was told. The doctor moved around a bit and then looked up at both women that were now openly crying as he lifted the tiniest, most perfect human being. "Ladies, meet your eldest."

Regina was in awe, tears running down her face. "She is beautiful." She whispered sending a quick glance down at Emma who let out a watery laugh as she fell back to the bed from the position she was in.

"Our little Reagan."

He proceeded to hand the baby to the nurse next to him. "Mommy, would you like to cut the chord?" The brunette looked down at Emma and smiling, she let go of the death grip she had on the older woman's hand.

The nurse then took the baby to where the other doctors were to assure that everything was in order.

The blonde had just moments to recover because her contractions picked up again and as she let out a load groan, wailing could be heard from the back of the room.

"Motherfucker." She muttered to herself. In an instant her wife was next to her to hold her hand.

"Some lungs your girl has got there." Chuckled Doctor Palmer. "Okay, Emma here we go again. Ready?"

"Yeah." Halfway through she stated shaking. "I can't- I-" She sobbed.

"Hey. Hey, Ems, look at me." Said the brunette moving back sweaty blonde locks that were sticking to a pale forehead. "Yes you can, beautiful. You can do this and so much more." She smiled down at her crying wife. "You can do this, my love. You are the strongest person I know." She swallowed back her own tears. "Let's meet our daughter, yeah?"

The blonde sniffed and gave a slight nod.

"Almost there, Emma. Just two more, okay?" And with that, baby Riley was born. The Doctor signaled the brunette to cut the chord again and the nurse took the baby to the back of the room.

The blonde once again fell limply back on the bed and Regina covered her head with kisses as a second round of wailing started.

A minute or so later, the other nurse approached the tan woman with a cleaned up Reagan wrapped up in a pink blanket. "Here you go, mommy. They're smaller than other babies but that's normal. But even then, they are completely healthy." She said handing the tiny brunette to Regina.

She looked down at Emma who was looking up at her with a tired smile on her face. Returning her gaze to her daughter she admired her perfect little features. Eyes closed, her head full of fuzzy dark brown hair, just like hers. A little button nose and tiny hands clenched into fists by her face. "Hi, princess. I was dying to meet you and your sister." That earned her a small yawn and she ran the tip of her thumb on a silk-soft cheek. "I love you so much, my darling."

The blonde sat up a bit when a nurse came back, now with Riley equally cleaned and wrapped up and handed her carefully to the younger mom. "Hi, sweetheart." She sniffed, smiling broadly and running her fingers over a tiny head. "We've been waiting for you. Welcome to the family." She said looking into big, olive green eyes looking back at her. After placing tender kisses on a soft forehead, she looked up to see her wife wearing a loving smile that threatened to split her face in half, matching her own.

In that moment she was sure, life couldn't get any better.


	14. Bonds and Whatnot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one but I wanted to get it out there. I don't even know. This is just mushy baby stuff and lots of bonding lol.
> 
> All mistakes are mine.

 

The brunette was swaying on her feet holding a tiny Riley while Emma sat up in the hospital bed feeding Reagan.

After the birth, the twins were taken away for more check-ups and a proper cleaning before they could be brought back to the room, which gave Emma about an hour to rest until a nurse came back with the babies for their first feed.

_An hour or so ago_

_Emma fell asleep the minute everyone left the room, Regina could only imagine how bringing not one, but two little human beings to life would drain someone. She contemplated on doing the same on the couch next to the bed since it was almost midnight but her mind was going a mile a minute. After giving her wife a loving kiss on top of damp, blonde locks, she went in search of her in-laws to let them know how everything went._

_As she expected, they were still sitting on the waiting room. Maggie was resting her head on David's shoulder and they were holding hands. The brunette halted for a second observing the older couple and smiling to herself. That's how she wanted her life with Emma to be like, full of love and happiness._

_She resumed her movements and as soon as both blondes saw her they stood up and looked at her expectantly. Her smile broke into a grin. "17.5 inches, 5 pounds each and very healthy." She hadn't finished the sentence when the older woman enveloped her in a tight hug._

" _Congratulations, honey. We're so happy!" The brunette returned the hug. "How's our baby?" She asked taking a step back._

" _She's fine, exhausted but fine. She is overjoyed but fell asleep as soon as the nurses finished cleaning everything up."_

_David squeezed her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"_

_The brunette sighed dreamily. "Like I am about to burst from all the love I feel right now. They are so perfect and beautiful. I can't wait for them to bring them back to the room." She let herself get lost in thoughts of her daughters and her wife for a minute before remembering she wasn't alone. "Are you going to wait for Emma to wake up or would you rather come back in the morning?"_

_The couple shared a look and David spoke. "We would love to stay but it's really late and we know you guys must be tired."_

" _We were thinking about going to the nursery and see the girls before leaving and come back tomorrow at an acceptable hour." Maggie added._

_Regina nodded in understanding and if she was being honest, she wanted to spend some time alone with just her wife and the newest additions to their family. "Sounds good. The doctor wants to keep Emma and the babies here until the day after tomorrow just to be safe. You could stay with them while I go to the house and pick some things up, we sort of rushed here and left a couple things."_

_Before either could respond, the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them. "Hello. I don't mean to interrupt-."_

" _Mom?" Whispered the young brunette._

" _Hi, dear."_

" _You made it." She smiled softly._

" _Wouldn't miss it for the world."_

_The woman glanced at the blondes that were studying the other brunette. "Maggie, David, I'd like to introduce you to my mother, Cora Mills. Mother, these are Margaret and David, Emma's parents."_

" _Pleased to make your acquaintance." Cora shook both David's and Maggie's hands._

_They didn't know how to act towards the older woman's somewhat friendly attitude. They had seen their daughter in law suffer because of the way her mother had treated her before and didn't know what to make of the fact that she seemed to be supportive right now._

" _Likewise." Said David after a few seconds of silence._

_Regina noticed that the couple had taken a defensive stance and decided to speak up. "Why don't you go see if you can meet the girls?"_

" _Honey, are you sure?" Asked the blonde woman tentatively, as if asking if it was okay to leave them alone._

" _I am." She said giving them an honest smile and they both gave her a hug._

" _We love you, sweetie."_

" _And I you. Now go meet your granddaughters and maybe I'll catch up with you later." She received a kiss on the top of the head from David before the older couple left in search of the nursery where the babies were being prepped to be brought to the room._

" _They seem nice."_

" _They're wonderful. They've been great to me since the start."_

_The older woman looked down at the floor for a second. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during that time."_

" _No. No, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that, yes, they are amazing people, a bit over protective at times, but amazing nonetheless."_

_Cora hummed but said nothing for a while and they just stood in silence until it became uncomfortable and she cleared her throat again. "How are the girls?"_

_Regina's eyes brightened up instantly. "They are so beautiful, and healthy, and perfect." She said with a sigh. "They are both brunettes, with green eyes and so tiny and so ridiculously gorgeous." The young woman beamed and her mother smiled._

" _I'm glad they are doing okay."_

" _Would- Uhm, would you like to meet them?"_

" _Oh, could I? I wouldn't want to be a bother or anything."_

" _Of course. I'll only stay with you for a bit though, I don't want to leave Emma alone for too long, even if she is asleep."_

" _Very well, lead the way."_

_When they reached the nursery where they kept all the newborns in, David and Maggie were just coming out with huge smiles on their faces. "Oh, honey! They are just adorable!" Said Margaret cheerfully._

" _Congratulations Regina, you two did good." David said._

" _Thank you, but it was mostly Emma who made this happen." She smiled sadly thinking about the fact that she almost gave up on trying and wasn't as supportive as she should have been during the whole getting pregnant process. "Are you leaving, already?" She asked after a moment of silence._

" _Yes, it's really late and maybe we could spend more time with all of you after our girl gets some rest." The man smiled._

" _I'll see you in a while, then. I'll call when Emma and I are awake and functioning."_

_They said their goodbyes and the brunettes entered the room where a nurse gave them both gowns to wear over their clothes before leading them to the little, glass cots the babies were in. "Let me know if you need anything." Said the nurse in pink scrubs and the younger woman nodded and turned her attention to her daughters._

" _Hello, my little darlings." Regina cooed as she picked up a yawning Reagan. "There is someone else I want you to meet." She said as they had obviously just met their other grandparents. "This is your grandma Cora. Mother, this is Regan Swan-Mills." The brunette announced handing the baby to her mother. "And this-" She picked up the sleeping baby that had her tiny hands into fists and held her close to her chest. "Is Riley Swan-Mills."_

" _They are beautiful." The older woman said and sniffed, action that caused Regina to finally tear her eyes from her daughter's tiny features._

" _Why are you crying?"_

_After a pause, Cora spoke. "Because I never thought I'd see this day." She shook her head. "I was so awful to you and your wife. I know I keep apologizing, but I mean it every time. I know it isn't easy and that I haven't earned your forgiveness, but I am grateful that you are both trying and are letting me be a part of your lives." She looked down to the bundle in her arms. "All of your lives."_

_They still had a long way to go, but seeing the sincerity in the woman's eyes, Regina thought that it would be possible to start a new relationship at some point. Both women stood in silence for a while, just holding the girls until the young brunette left to check on Emma, not before promising her mother she'd call later to plan another visit and maybe bring Zelena along when it wasn't so late for baby Nathan's sake._

_Half hour later, the nurse that had called the doctor earlier asked Regina to wake the blonde up since they were bringing the girls back to be fed so she did by giving her little, soft kisses on her cheek. Weary green eyes opened and a small smile adorned the pale face. "Hi." She whispered._

" _Hey yourself, gorgeous." The brunette said lovingly running the back of her fingers over her wife's cheek and leaning in to give her a tender kiss on the lips. "How are you feeling?"_

" _Sore, tired." The younger woman hummed. "But happy." She smiled and tried to sit up looking around the room. "The babies?"_

_Regina held her hand and entwined their fingers together. "I just saw them a bit ago, with my mother, actually. They're bringing tem back in a minute."_

" _I wasn't sure you if you wanted her to come or not. How did that go?"_

_The brunette kissed her wife's knuckles. "Better than I expected. I was surprised when she showed up. So were your parents, they wanted to let you rest and they're coming back later."_

_The blonde chuckled. "Thank god. I love my parents but I don't think I could deal with mom's excitement right now. And see? She's really trying."_

_Before she could reply the door opened and two nurses came in pushing a little cot each and both women beamed. "Hello, mommies. These little ones need to be fed, are you ready?"_

_Emma immediately forgot about her tiredness and paid attention as the nurse explained what she had to do to get the babies to latch onto her breast, answered questions and gave her a few tips. Also explained that because they were two, it was likely that she would have to complement with baby formula since her body wasn't going to be able to keep up with the demand of milk the girls needed._

_She started with Riley, who was awake and fussy. It took a few tries but she managed and soon enough the tiny bundle was full and calm. She cuddled her close for a few minutes before a piercing cry emerged from the other cot and she passed her to Regina so she could feed Reagan._

Emma studied the face before her, running the pad of her thumb over a chubby cheek. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching them. I love them so much I think my heart is going to explode. Or implode. Maybe both at the same time." She smiled when a tiny hand fisted around one of her fingers. "Yes, momma loves you with her whole being." She added now addressing her eldest daughter.

The blonde looked up and saw that her wife was in a trance also studying the baby in her own arms. "Gina? You okay?"

"Hm? Yeah. Yes, sorry I just zoned out for a sec."

Emma frowned. "Is something wrong?"

The older woman sighed and looked up at her wife with tears in her eyes. "What if I mess this up?"

"Mess what up?"

"This. Our children. What if I am not good enough?" She let out a deep breath looking back down at her daughter. "They are so precious and so innocent and completely dependent on us. What if I do something wrong and hurt them? What if I mess up and they end up hating me?" Tears were now falling down her tan cheeks. "I don't know how to do any of this. What if I'm not the mother they deserve?" She whispered.

"Hey. Hey, none of that. Come here." She scooted over so the brunette could sit on the bed. "Regina, babe. Do you think I have a clue of what I'm doing? I don't. But that's okay, we all make mistakes at some point and, trust me; we are going to make them. But that's what life is about, to learn from the mistakes we make." She looked at both their daughters. "We will probably mess up at some point. But you know what? We will also love them with everything we have to give. They'll want for nothing and need for nothing and they are going to have two parents that love them more than anything in this world. You already are a great mother, just by being here, by loving them as much as you do. So don't doubt yourself. I believe in you, I believe in us. And we can do this, together. Okay?"

Regina nodded tearfully. "I love you, so much."

"I love you back." The blonde smiled handing the yawning baby she was holding to her other mother. "Here. Mommy needs all the love you can give her, my little ones." She said amorously giving the tan cheek a kiss and rested her head on the woman's shoulder as she held a baby in each arm.

Regina nodded to herself. "We can do this. Right?"

"Together."

"Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I am marking this story complete because I already told the story that I wanted to tell. I do want to add a few chapters in the future or maybe even do a sequel about their family life and their journey with the girls, but I don't see that happening any time soon so I'll just mark it as finished for now. Thank you all who took the time to read, comment and follow this story.


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